Halkegenia Online : Beach Episode
by zero0hero
Summary: It's Fun in the Sun! In the wake of Eugene and Morgiana's Wedding, the Kirigaya Clan and Friends enjoy a restful getaway to scenic Ragdorian Lake. But how long can that last with Water Spirits, Djinni, and Mermaids in the mix? Parallel's the events of Chapter 10 - 11 of HaLO v3.
1. Chapter 1

Halkegenia Online - Beach Episode - Chapter 1

"Oh wow! This is beautiful, isn't it Kirito-kun . . . What? Is something wrong? Kirito-kun?" Asuna's elation turned to concern as she set down her travel bag with one hand and took Yui's hand with the other.

"Papa?" His daughter tilted her head in that innocent way that she reserved for when she was genuinely confused and unable to resolve conflicting «Inputs».

"Nii-chan?" Suguha gave him her own brand of worried look as she came up behind him. "Is something wrong?"

"Not wrong exactly." Kirito answered, shrugging off the canvas duffel bags he'd been put in charge of retrieving from the nearby post office. For a Faerie, they weren't anything heavy, but while flying with this much stuff might have been possible, it definitely wouldn't have been very convenient, comfortable, or safe. "This just seems like a bit much is all." An old and familiar unease took hold as he gazed up at the lookout inspired tower that rose before them.

The tower was three floors high with a fourth floor consisting of a semi enclosed wooden platform, constructed like most minor Salamander buildings from tough desert bricks and a protective façade of sand plaster that had begun to crack and separate around its solid stone foundations with a certain deliberate artistic flair. Vibrant canvas awnings were rigged from the top floor of the tower, sloping down in graceful, wing-like sweeps to the surrounding walls and buildings to form a shaded pavilion around fountains and outdoor sitting areas lush with plant life.

In fact, it was hard to believe that less than two months ago this place had been an abandoned front line outpost in the shadow of the Fortress City of Gaddan, now transformed into a beach side refuge from the summer heat upon the shores of Ragdorian Lake and fast becoming the foremost destination for Faeries seeking something almost like a vacation.

"I think you should just enjoy it Nii-chan." Suguha said, trading looks with Asuna. "Besides, where else are we going to stay?"

"Sugu's right you know." Asuna said. "It was really generous of Argo-san to tell us about this place."

"She was just passing on what she learned from Agil." Kirito pointed out. In fact, she'd almost pushed the info onto them.

The Gnome storekeeper was certainly doing well for himself since Kirito had last visited the Dicey Cafe. The Gnome couple Agil and Eda, Andrew and Kathy Mills, had hired another employee so that Agil could free up time to travel and meet with prospective investors.

While that did mean his old fence usually wasn't the one serving him from behind the counter these days, Kirito actually thought it was _awesome_ that he was holding his own with the established Tristanian merchants. The fact that the Kirigaya Family owned a ten percent interest in the «Honey Halo Confectionery and Creamery» project that Agil was getting off the ground and another five percent in «Goubniu Light Mechanics» just gave the Spriggan another reason to root for him.

From mats and weapons to spices and sweets. It sure was a change in clientele Kirito mused. At least Kathy seemed to like her husband's new business ambition. In fact, she thought he was maybe working a little _too_much recently, leaving her alone to mind the businesses in Arrun while he ventured out to provide them both with a better life.

"So shall we get our things settled and take a look around?" Asuna smiled as she pressed her hands together so that her fingers touched lightly at their tips. "Then we can go get changed. Silica and Liz should have arrived already."

Kirito grabbed the bags once more and set out after his Maeve wife towards a small kiosk situated beneath the pavilion and manned by two young women, _human_ women, who cheerfully greeted the Faerie couple. The fact that there were Tristanians living in and around Gaddan wasn't all that surprising. Unlike Arrun with its Faerie population of nearly twenty thousand, the faction cities were more sparsely populated and required extra labor both to maintain the cities and to free the native Salamanders for other tasks. More importantly, Gaddan and its «Desert Zone» had displaced a large amount of marginal land, and many people had been left in search of work, eventually being lured to the Salamander City by rumors of its growing prosperity and the level hand of its bureaucratic Lord, Mortimer. So seeing humans working at a 'resort', even a Faerie resort, shouldn't have been at all unusual.

What might have been a _little_ surprising was what they were wearing, or maybe what they _weren't_. Colorful halter tops, sheer skirts, and big smiles didn't leave very much to the imagination. "Welcome to the Charming Siren's Lagoon! I'm Jessica." A black haired girl on the left in matching tea green top and skirt said, more importantly, the way she clasped her hands together in front of her did _interesting_ things with her generous figure, especially when she bowed. "How can we be of service today?"

Charming Siren's Lagoon?

The former outpost was located beside what _had_ been a desert oasis, and thanks to the Transition, the large pool of crystal clear water ringed and bottomed by powder soft sand was now technically a freshwater lagoon of Ragdorian lake. Kirito guessed that made the girls the 'Sirens'. Either that or there were some nasty «Avian» type mobs around the lake shore that nobody had taken care of yet.

Kirito squinted hard at the sign board hanging behind the two girls. It seemed to be proclaiming the establishment's name in both Tristanian and Japanese along with a list of nightly prices for the various rooms and services. From a brief study of the line items, the Spriggan could only conclude one thing. 'Seems expensive.'

"Hello." Asuna began conversationally. "We're the Kirigaya party. A friend made reservations for us a week ago." The Maeve girl reached into her purse, fishing around for a small slip of paper which she handed to the girl at the kiosk. "She said we just needed to give you this."

The girl accepted the note, reading its contents with a practiced precision and then handing it to the slight, blonde haired girl in pink beside her. "Certainly. Your reservation is for the third floor great room and roof garden. Gimi here will help you get settled."

'Third Flood Great Room'. Kirito read the description and then the price . . . And then read the price again because he was sure there was an extra _zero_.

"Asuna . . ." He began.

"Hmm?" His wife looked to him as if she didn't have a care in the world.

"Doesn't that look a little _pricey_ to you?" Kirito whispered under his breath. He didn't exactly have a problem with splurging on a nice room or on good food, especially when they had so little time off to enjoy it. But even being generous that seemed way too expensive. Their family finances might have been secure, but they weren't rich enough to throw around their money frivolously either.

The change from confusion to worry was almost instantaneous on Asuna's face and she was about to say something when the black haired girl placed a receipt into her hand and worry changed almost as quickly back to confusion. "Here you go. Two nights on the third floor reserved and paid in advance."

"Excuse me?" Asuna examined the receipt, carefully reading the Japanese text, the product of a small wooden stamp sitting innocently on the desk.

"Our copy of the receipt says your room was already paid for in full." The black haired girl said, never failing to smile or remain anything but perfectly polite. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Kirito and Asuna exchanged looks. Together, their eyes drooped and they shared a sigh. Argo might be a good friend, but she wasn't exactly wealthy _either_. This was getting suspicious. But experience said the mystery would unravel itself when it was ready, so there was no point in worrying for now. "No, that will be all, thank you." Asuna returned the receipt to her purse.

The serving girl, Gimi, had been happy to show them up to their room on the third level, eagerly leading the way up an external flight of stairs and producing the room key from a small pouch worn around her waist. The girls were the first through the door, and from the noises that wafted back out as Kirito followed, he could guess they were pleased with what they'd found inside. When he saw it for himself, he couldn't really disagree.

The 'Great Room' that Argo had reserved for them turned out to be pretty aptly named. The entire third level of the tower was taken up by a single open space. An elevated hardwood floor followed the curve of the circular wall with its many windows around the perimeter of the chamber and surrounded a sunken sitting area filled with luxurious pillows and low sitting tables. A small fireplace was located at the center of the room, its chimney rising up through the ceiling and its hearth cold but already filled with dried logs just waiting for kindling.

"Pardon me." The servant girl slipped through the door past Kirito and gingerly laid the folded mattress against the wall before going to get another.

Kirito found a place for the bags before going to stand beside Asuna looking out from a south facing window that gave a view over the edge of the outpost walls to the crystal clear oasis turned lagoon and the wide blue expanse of Ragdorian lake which stretched off like the sea in either direction.

Yui threw her arms over the windowsill, eyes big and bright. "Pretty." She whispered quietly. His daughter was right of course, it was a beautiful sight, the biggest freshwater lake in all of Halkegenia and also the deepest. Ragdorian lake was renowned for its beauty, the kind of place that would probably have been protected as a «National Treasure» back in Japan.

Even here in Halkegenia where the people had never had to contend with the worst aspects of industrial pollution the Lake received respect for another very important reason.

"I remember Captain Gramont telling me that Ragdorian lake is the home of Water Spirits." Asuna noted as she swept her eyes across the distant expanse of deep blue. "The Lake is kept pristine thanks to their care. Apparently the water is clear enough to see for hundreds of meters."

"The Undines must love it." Kirito thought out loud. It was sort of a shame that the city of Orlein hadn't been the settlement to appear at the lakeside. Instead, the squat walls of Gaddan rose along the stretch of desert coast, the imposing stone keep of Gaddan Tower visible for kilometers.

"So they're like kami?" Suguha pondered out loud. "I wonder if we'll have a chance to see one. What would a water spirit even look like?"

Asuna shook her head, a wistful look on the Maeve girl's features. "I don't think so. They live in the deepest parts of the lake, and apparently they only communicate with a few chosen intermediaries. I think General Gramont's youngest son is engaged to one of them."

"Montmorency." Kirito supplied helpfully. "I guess everyone calls her Monmon." Guiche did anyway. Montmorency mon Montmorency, it was enough to make the Spriggan wonder if her name wasn't maybe a little unfortunate. There was no way her family hadn't known the sort of nicknames she'd collect.

Kirito went to help Gimi with the remaining futons, where he discovered another oddity to ask his wife about. "Asuna, how many people are we expecting?" Because this was _way_ too many mattresses.

"Hmm . . . Well there's you, me, Yui-chan, and Leafa-chan. So that's four. Liz said she's bringing a friend along so that's another two." A friend? Kirito frowned, uh oh. "And then Silica and her friend from Arrun home, and one other that she knows. Then there's Klein, Kino, and Caramella. So that's twelve staying at least one night."

Kirito looked around, suddenly the room didn't seem so big anymore. Man, this was supposed to just be a small get together. Sometimes he forgot that Asuna was used to thinking about gatherings in much bigger numbers. Their senses of what made a «Crowd» were on completely different levels.

"Anyone else?" Kirito was almost afraid to ask.

"Carmond-san mentioned he would be visiting Gaddan with his little niece and nephew, he said he'd bring them down for the day. I made an offer to Morgiana-san and Gene-san too, they're resting in Gaddan after the wedding, so they might come down for a little while but they might not. Oh, and Eda says she's bringing Agil for a day off."

"Huh?" Kirito's head came up. "Agil?"

"You sound surprised." Asuna's brow rose. "You didn't think Eda-chan could pull him away from his work for that long?"

"Actually I was thinking that if he isn't working, he isn't making us any money." Kirito frowned deeply, those investments weren't going to grow themselves after all. "But now that you mention it, that is pretty surprising . . . What?" The Spriggan looked up to be confronted by three faces with varying expressions of distaste.

"Nii-chan." Suguha fixed him with flat, disapproving look. "I knew you were greedy, but I didn't think you were that sort of person."

"Erm . . ."

"Papa is pretty stingy." Yui crossed her arms as she passed harsh judgement.

"Uhm . . ."

"Kirito-kun." Asuna pursed her lips in a way that said she was profoundly _annoyed_ with him.

Ah, he could see how what he'd said could be taken kind of badly. "Well . . ." Kirito began. "It's just a lot of money is all and . . ." He flinched as Asuna stepped away from the window and approached with a dangerous look in her eyes. His wife reached out, planting both hands on his shoulders, and began to gently but firmly_push_ him towards the door.

"Asuna?"

"Girls get changed in the room, Kirito-kun, you need to leave for a little bit."

"But . . ."

"Why don't you go down to the beach and have a nice swim." The Maeve pushed him out onto the balcony and shut the door in his face.

Kirito was left standing alone, expression decidedly nonplussed as he sighed. Go down to the beach for a swim? Sure. But his sunscreen and swim trunks were still in the room. The door promptly swung open again. Kirito looked up to meet the eyes of his sister Suguha. The Sylph gave an apologetic little bow and pressed his bag into his chest. "Nii-chan."

"Thanks." Kirito sighed as the door was shut again. He decided to take the fast route down, climbing over the balcony rail and lightly dropping the three floors to the ground on a feathered burst of flight power. He thought he'd seen changing tents down on the beach. Besides, he thought he could smell barbecue coming from nearer to the lagoon, he might just find a few «Rare Treasures» if he did a little exploring.

A hot summer day, maybe the hottest so far, and also a Day of Void. It seemed that plenty of people had used that excuse to take a day of rest and escape to someplace cool.

The impression of a resort only grew as Kirito made his way towards the beach. There were even more of the serving staff in their revealing beach outfits entertaining and bringing food and drinks from a kitchen in a building near the outpost wall. Guests were relaxing in the shade, drinking, eating, and talking. A pair of Undines were in the middle of readying spears for a fishing expedition while a Puca girl thoroughly lathered every inch of her golden brown skin with a bottle of mineral laced sunscreen.

Nearer to the lagoon, the source of the cooking smells came from an open pit bonfire where a group of Salamanders were busying themselves with the formidable task of preparing and roasting a whole «Sand Shark» freshly caught from the «Desert Zone».

Leading the effort was a tall and athletic looking Salamander woman who, Kirito was careful not to stare, was dressed more in her rich fiery red hair than the pair of shorts and halter top revealing taut and tawny skin that glistened all over with sweat as she hacked away with a blade like a machete in the combined heat of the sun and the open fire.

-Whack- Another sharp blow driven by limbs and back that rippled with trained muscle. A swordswoman, Kirito noted, approving of her technique and follow through. Each strike landed exactly where she wanted it to, cracking and peeling back the remaining fragments of shell so that she could hack off the fins, probably for «Sand Shark Fin Soup», it looked like they planned to roast the rest of the Mob in its shell to preserve the succulent meat.

The swordswoman wiped the sweat from her brow and waved for two burly young Salamander men to move the de-finned mob over the fire. A half dozen more Salamanders were working at benches in the shade nearby, the air sweet with the smells of sauce being prepared. For a race of fire aligned Fae, the Salamanders definitely knew how to enjoy themselves by the water.

So close to Gaddan, the fact that the majority of the Faerie guests were Salamanders came as no surprise. They stood out with their fiery hair and sometimes even more eye catching clothing, or near lack of it, as they lay along the beach or swam in the crystal clear water of the lagoon. The second most common guests were, also unsurprisingly, cool haired Undines lounging in the shade or adventuring out into the wider waters of Ragdorian lake itself.

Further back from the water there were changing tents for the guests to put on their swimwear along with food kiosks lining the outside of the outpost wall and serving everything from cold cut sandwiches to sweets and cold drinks. All the promises of food set Kirito's stomach to growling. So after getting himself changed into his beach clothes, black trunks and a sleeveless black shirt, and rubbing in the contents of the glass sunscreen bottle until the mixture of perfume and mineral scents felt like it had permeated his skin, the Spriggan emerged back onto the beach.

Kirito was about to peruse the stalls when a call at his back drew his attention. "Hey . . . Hey Kirito!"

The sword smith Lizbeth didn't so much pat Kirito on the back as slam her arm across his shoulders with the full strength of her work trained biceps, nearly knocking the Spriggan Swordsman over before he caught his balance and twisted around to meet the Leprechaun's smug grin.

"Getting a little slow there, Kirito." The smith teased as they fist bumped in greeting. "Good to see you made it. Then I'm guessing Asuna and Yui-chan are around here?"

"Getting changed back at the room." The Spriggan agreed as he rubbed at his back, that had kind of hurt. "And I'm getting a little slow nothing, maybe you shouldn't drop in on a guy when he's distracted." That would learn_him_ for letting his guard down when he was hungry.

Liz laughed again, giving him a gentler pat on the back to apologize. "All that good smelling food huh? Yeah, this place is pretty awesome and the lagoon water is _really_ clear and cool too. The Cat made a good find on this one."

"Wh-what do you m-mean, g-good find!" Liz's grin faded into a look of displeasure and then of outright disgust as a pair of arms reached over her shoulders and a second Leprechaun with hair like golden wire leaned their weight against her. "Apprentice. H-Hey A-Apprentice wh-wh-what is this _hellscape_ y-you've dragged me to? A-Are you t-trying to murder your master after a-all the k-kind things I've d-done for you?!"

The sword smith Kofu squinted from beneath her bangs, clearly distressed to be anyplace brighter or more open than the dingy walls of her shop. Now that Kirito thought about it, he couldn't remember a single time dealing with the Leprechaun master smith that he had seen her anyplace but _at_ her shop. The realities of life after the Transition were pretty tough on a shut in it seemed. They couldn't even hide behind a monitor anymore.

"While I'm surprised you didn't shrivel up in the sunlight," Liz bucked her burden from her shoulders, "If I were going to kill you I'd use a hammer and stake. You need fresh air and a normal sleep cycle you weird Hikikimori!"

Watching silently, from Kirito's vantage, it seemed a lot like a parent dealing with a small child, a complete reversal of the bullying that Kofu usually delivered to her 'Apprentice'. The blonde Leprechaun cast her eyes aside sullenly. "T-The hearth gods w-won't like it. Y-you better appease t-them A-Apprentice!"

"Whatever." Liz sighed as she took the other girl by the shoulders and started to clean her up, adjusting her posture so that she stood straight and brushing the hair out of her eyes. "Come on, you can sleep all you want, just as long as you're getting fresh air. Hey, Kirito I think I saw Silica down by the water just before I caught sight of you."

"Right." Kirito came up beside Kofu and took the smith's left arm while Liz took her right, guiding her back towards the water as she whimpered and groaned under her breath. Even if it wasn't polite, Kirito had to know, "How did you even get her to Gaddan?"

"Business with one of her suppliers. He wouldn't deal with me directly." Liz scowled. "We had to catch a ship so Kofu could stay below decks. Actually," Liz looked nervous, "I didn't think she'd take it this badly."

Badly was an understatement. Hopefully being away from the source of her 'Power' wouldn't cause Liz's 'Master' to crumble to dust.

At least the people waiting for them by the shore looked happier to be out in the sun. "Kirito!" A small, bubbly Cait girl, her ears hidden beneath a broad straw hat waved to him with great sweeps of her arm, a blue feathered dragon rising beside her on strong wing beats.

"Kyaa!"

"Looks like you two beat us to the water." Kirito greeted, letting Liz handle Kofu into the shade of an umbrella to have a sit down.

"Is something wrong with that person?" Silica asked out loud, her tone changing immediately to one of concern.

Kirito just scratched the back of his head. "It's . . . complicated . . . don't mind her too much, Liz has it handled." Probably, Kirito hoped.

He must have sounded more confident than he felt since Silica seemed more than willing to take his words at face value, giving her 'munchkin' smile and nodding. "Well, maybe once she's had a lay down. This sure is a scorcher today, but Yuuki-chan and I saw a stand selling shaved ice . . ."

"_Blue_berry shaved ice!" A beautifully and equally straw hatted Imp girl with long violet hair added as she came up beside Silica and put an arm around the Cait girl's shoulder. Like Silica, she was dressed for the summer heat in a thin strapped top and cotton shorts that concealed a ready bathing suit for later. "That's the perfect thing for this weather, dontcha think? So this is one of your friends, Silica-chan?"

"Un." The Cait girl stood between them and gave introductions. "Yuuki-chan, this is Kirito-kun, a good friend of mine. You'd know him better as Yui-chan's father. Kirito-kun, this is my partner Yuuki, we fly the courier routes together."

"Eh?" The girl who had been introduced as Yuuki gave Kirito a second look, fixing him with cherry-blossom-pink eyes. "You're Yui-chan's Papa? I guess you're one of the 'lucky' out of timers then, huh?" She grinned and stuck out her hand. "The name's Konno Yuuki, Licensed Courier Second Class. Nice to meetcha!"

"Same here." Kirito shook back. Any friend of Silica's was a friend of his, he was just glad to see that she was practicing better judgment with the sort of people she hung around with.

"So how about we go see about that shaved ice?" Yuuki asked Silica.

"Un, then we can go for a swim in the lagoon." Silica agreed. "It'll be fun."

The Imp girl's smile faltered ever so slightly as the brakes were put on her exuberance. "Erm . . . swimming? Uh . . . Actually Silica-chan . . ."

"Whatever you girls decide to do, remember to put on the sunblock that Nori-chan sent for you first." A soft spoken Undine in a sheer summer gown said as she placed her hands gently on the shoulders of both girls. "You have to protect your skin in this weather." The water Faerie looked up at Kirito, smiling softly, her long, drooping lashes giving the impression that she might have been a little wilted in the summer heat. "And you must be Kirito-san. Silica-chan has told Yuuki-chan and I a little about you. I am Shiune, it is a pleasure to meet you."

"Shiune works at the Arrun Central Hospital." Silica explained helpfully. "She's one of the nurses learning how to take care of people from the doctor's that work there. Oh, and she's also one of the members of Yuuki-chan's guild. Some of them split off after the Transition but they all keep in touch, like a family."

The Undine bowed very slightly with her hands clasped in front of her. "I'd like to thank you and your wife for inviting Yuuki and I."

"Don't mention it." Kirito bowed back, feeling like his manners were a little outclassed by this beautiful Undine woman. "This is just a beach trip, it's really not something that you need to make a big deal out of."

"Thank you nevertheless, on both our behalf." Shiune insisted as she brushed aside a long, graceful strand of hair. Yuuki took the Undine by the hand, pulling her off towards the stands and asking what flavor she'd like to get, apparently the Imp was paying.

Silica stopped long enough to turn back. "And do you want anything, Kirito-san?"

"I think I'm good." It wasn't that he wasn't feeling a bit thirsty, but the introductions had been a little bit much on such short notice and it was probably just a taste of what was going to come later today. A nice, secluded little get together was going to end up being a big gathering, and those sorts of things always ended up being a little exhausting.

'We have too many friends.' Kirito decided, but he was grateful for every single one of them. "You go on ahead, I'm going to see if I can find a good spot for us to set up. There's going to be a lot of people."

"Un."

They'd parted ways, Silica going with Shiune and Yuuki while Liz stayed to keep an eye on Kofu under the shade of the umbrellas. Kirito made his way along the parasol shaded beach in search of a spot with enough room for everyone, and preferably a little secluded from the rest of the beach goers. He found that spot about halfway around the lagoon, where the sheltered waters were separated from Ragdorian lake by nothing more than a wide sandbar and the lush oasis plants screening off the nearest parts of the beach.

A cluster of Parasols and beach chairs were arranged near to a few hardy looking desert trees, with only a trio of people around, a pair of guests reclining in chairs in the shade, and a Cait girl crouched down over a sandcastle that seemed to be well on its way to becoming an impressive replica of Freelia.

It occurred to Kirito that maybe the other guests had come here for the same reason, to get away from the noise and find a nice quiet spot, so it only seemed right to warn them and ask permission.

"Oy, excuse me . . ." Kirito waved to the young man reclined in the first beach chair, presently occupied with intently reading a thin, leather bound book. The fringes of blond hair sticking out from beneath a boonie hat, the deep blue cotton jacket over patterned t-shirt and khaki cargo shorts, and the lightweight loafers that lay kicked off and filled with sand at his feet practically made him look like a laid back American surfer. Probably a Sylph come down from Freelia, except . . . except . . . Kirito frowned as he got a good look at him, and then grimaced as suspicion returned. "Oy oy . . . This isn't funny you know . . . Did Asuna put you up to this too?" Because that was the only way he could see it happening. It _did_ however explain who had paid for their room.

The man looked up from his book, closing it carefully with a wooden bookmark. Kirito's written Tristanian wasn't the best, but he understood enough of the alphabet to know that it was definitely _Tristanian_ and that the title read something like _The King_. Well, at least it wasn't _The Princess and the Princess_. If it had been, the Spriggan would have been taking the opportunity to defect across the border into Gallia.

"I was wondering when you and your family would arrive." The youth sat up in his chair. "Sir Kirito."

"Prince Wales." The Black Swordsman greeted the exile Prince of Albion, not exactly how or _where_ he'd ever have expected to find him. The fact that the 'Surf Bum' happened to be _him_ just made it seem all the more insane. Kirito could only think of one thing to say. "Nice hat."

"Ah yes, so simple it isn't even a disguise. Where better to sit unnoticed then in plain sight?" Wales put his book down beside his chair and climbed to his feet. "And who would expect a _human_ to be hiding his ears on a Faerie beach? Quite effective, wouldn't you say? Of course, some of my men are here as well, no sense in taking chances . . . "

Some of his men . . . Kirito hadn't been amused to begin with, but this was starting to seem like a bad joke that was taking too long to get to the punchline. "I'm going to guess this isn't when you're going to tell me what you're doing here."

The Prince stopped in his explanation of his 'disguise strategy' and took a turn for looking decidedly embarrassed. "Ah yes well . . ."

"He was terrorizing the Generals at the Champ de Mars so his Girlfriend the Queen gave him a time out and sent him all the way to scenic Ragdorian Lake. Tis a timeless lovers quarrel sa!" A nasal lisp came from the Cait girl on the beach, standing up, her hands tugged her golden yellow bathing suit bottom back down as she turned to flash a whiskered grin, a Pixie in an elaborate two piece bathing suit constructed from flowing scraps of yellow silk flying up from the sandcastle to settle on her shoulder. "But I wouldn't worry too much sa, he twas given some duties to attend to while down this way."

"Duties?" Kirito knew he wasn't going to like where this was going.

"Other than a few days rest," Wales answered, "Prescribed by my self-appointed physician of a cousin, I'm also extending my aid to this lovely young woman and her family." He gestured to the girl seated next to him.

Kirito looked to the human girl in modest swimsuit and shorts as she lowered her tinted glasses from her eyes. The human corkscrew looked back.

"Monmon?" Kirito let slip without even thinking about what he'd said.

"Pardon?" Montmorency mon Montmorency frowned. "I don't think we've . . . met . . ."

* * *

The Beach. Hot sun, cool winds, and the sound of the surf. The smell of good barbecue, the taste of good beer, and company of good friends. Stretches of pure, idyllic sand going on for what looked like forever, blue all the way to the horizon, and most importantly, _lots_ of beautiful women.

Yeah, Klein, Sir Tsuboi Ryotaro Klein, Faerie Swordsman of the Salamanders and Knight to Queen Henrietta of Tristain thought he had his priorities pretty much in order as he suckled on a dark brown bottle of something that tasted very satisfactorily like a lager.

He had his friends, he had his _beer_, and he had a view of all the scenic natural beauty that the combined worlds of Halkegenia and ALfheim had to offer stretching down the beach.

"Hey, Kirito." Klein said as kicked back in a beach chair beside the 'Black Knight' of the Order of Yggdrasil.

Reclined back in the shade in his own swim trunks and shirt, the Spriggan replied without opening his eyes, like nothing in the world could possibly bother him. "Yeah?"

"Life is good." Klein reached an arm behind his neck to prop up his head.

Kirito was a long time in answering, then, without any change in tone, or even a crack of his eyes, he replied. "If you're undressing Asuna or Sugu with your eyes, remember that getting kicked in the crotch will really hurt now."

Klein nearly choked on his next swig of beer before rocketing up in his chair, coughing heavily to clear his throat. "Hey now Kirito!" The Red Samurai actually felt a little hurt at what his friend was insinuating. "Come on man, you know I'd be the first guy to back up Asuna _or_ your sister if someone looked at them funny!" 'Backing them up' because either of the two Faeries would probably be able to handle almost anything that came their way before anyone else could lift a finger.

Make no mistake about it, the hell they'd all been through, SAO, the _Transition_, and the opening shots of a war, had taken both of those human girls and transformed them into incredibly strong and competent Faerie_women_, plenty able to look out for themselves.

Which was probably why Suguha really _did_ look all grown up these days, ever since she'd joined the Watch and started to cut her own path, not trying to follow after Kirito but not losing sight of him either. Klein's eyes wandered across the beach to where the girls were gathered on the shore. Sort of without any fanfare at all, Kirito's little sister had gone through another transformation, almost bigger than being turned into a Sylph in the first place. Her body might not have changed at all, but the way she _wore_ it sure had, and that was making all the difference.

Like the way she was rocking that white and green bikini without even thinking about it, out in the sun chatting with Asuna and the classy Undine that Silica had brought along. Chest thrust high, back arched, and hips out without a bit of the self-consciousness that usually made her look like a kid wearing hand-me-downs, proudly displaying taut skin and a generous figure that would have made a good number of grown women, grown _Faerie_ women, more than a little bit envious.

The tough talk and commanding presence of a Kendo practitioner confident in her skills had mellowed out, worn off its edges, sort of _melted_ and recast, from a diamond hard shield that Suguha had sheltered behind to face this crazy world, into a much more complete suit of armor that covered most of her weak spots. And he_really_ couldn't say it didn't look good on her.

Which was why he was probably going to _hell_ Klein realized.

'His _Sister_.' He reminded himself, as fun as she might be to hang around with. '_His_ Sister.' The Salamander repeated, emphasis on the 'His'. As cool as she could be in a fight. 'His _kid_ Sister.' Which really should have killed it for him. 'Remember your rule Klein!' Except if he hadn't known any better and Leafa had come up to him at a bar carrying herself like _that_, he couldn't say his first thought would have been to card her. In fact, it probably would have been a distant _fifth_.

It didn't help that Kirito chose that moment to nod. "Knowing I don't have anything to worry about is the only reason I'd say something like that." The Spriggan said. "Don't sweat it so much Klein."

"Yeah, right." The Salamander muttered. 'Bad Klein. Bad! You do not betray a bro's trust!' The Salamander turned his attention away from the aesthetic beach scene playing itself out before his eyes. 'Remember, there are plenty of other fish in the sea!'

In fact, speaking of fish, his eyes found safe harbor on the bluenette in a white one piece that Leafa had been talking to. Not only pretty but downright _beautiful_ in that sort of refined and nurturing way. And judging by the glass of wine she'd been lightly sipping earlier, safely over «The Line».

She'd introduced herself as Shiune when Klein had made it to the beach late and carrying a heavy wooden cask filled with ice and cold alcohol for those who were old enough to enjoy it. She was a guildmate or a friend of Silica's cute little partner. Seemed pretty alright from the little bit of conversation they'd managed to share. A healer, a nurse actually, or studying to be one now that she was settling into her new life.

Klein watched as the lovely Undine woman turned at the small tug at her sarong, meeting the smile of Silica's Imp partner who was dressed in a similar violet swimsuit and matching leg wrap. They exchanged a few words, Shiune tilting her head as she raised a hand to hide the smallest of smiles and then nodded and sent Yuuki off with her sarong so that she stood along the shore baring some really gorgeous long legs.

That got the Salamander's attention as he sat up to get a slightly better view of the slim woman stepping out into the crystal water. Her wings slowly crept out from her back, four azure sweeps that first took on their rigid flight forms, but then, as soon as their tips brushed water, began to turn limp and translucent. Once the Undine judged she was far enough out, the water about midway up slim thighs, she'd stretched out her arms and bent forward, fabric stretching in interesting ways, before springing off in a sleek dive, vanishing with barely a splash.

Klein hadn't even realized that he'd whistled until Argo's nasally chuckle had drawn his attention. The Cait girl had found herself a spot in the sand between Klein's chair and a bundled up cocoon of blankets that was the temporary 'nest' of Liz's insufferable Leprechaun boss. Legs crossed like a little kid, a large, leather bound notebook sat in her lap, the pages filled with 'the Cat's' absurdly fine scrawl laid out as neat as the text of a word processor.

"_Tis_ obvious you're enjoying yourself." The Cait Girl grinned widely, a big Cheshire smile. "Maybe a little too much, sa."

"Oy, you're saying it like it's a bad thing." Klein scratched at the back of his head. Leering at girls on the streets while they were going about their business was one thing, but taking a lay back and enjoying the view at a beach where it was all being shown off willingly was nothing like that. Especially when so many of the men and women were so obviously enjoying the chance to shamelessly flaunt their new selves.

"Far be it for me to judge, sa." Argo snickered again. "Just an observation that I thought should be made nyah. Tis an interesting phenomenon, one we didn't get to experience in Aincrad."

That was the truth, Klein thought. Sometimes it could be a little easy to forget, but Kayaba Akihiko had enforced a certain form of honesty among the trapped players of SAO, maybe as a reminder of his power, or maybe just to make the death game that much more real. If nothing else, when he'd crossed swords with another «Front Liner», or god forbid a «Player Killer», Klein had known he'd been seeing their 'real' face.

Logging into ALO had turned that seemingly unshakable truth on its head, all those people with fantastic looking faces and bodies, a throwback to that first day in the «Town of Beginnings». Players could choose to look however they wanted, for a price, and even the randomly generated avatars had leaned towards attractive on average to suit the idealized fantasy setting.

Caught up in that, Klein had, like many of the SAO survivors before him, felt a lot more at ease wearing his own face, or the best approximation he could manage using the character editor. He liked to think he'd done a good job.

But then there were the people, most of the players in fact, who had been playing ALO for the sense of escapism. It was definitely natural to want a good looking avatar, and Klein had thought about making some improvements himself, but nobody could have predicted before the Transition just how real and permanent their Faerie looks were going to turn out to be.

"So by all means, Klein, enjoy the eye candy courtesy of our species' collective insecurity nyah."

"Insecurity huh? That's an interesting way to put it." Kirito, who had been listening the entire time, leaned over and propped himself up in his chair.

"Tis the truth, Kii-bou." Argo grinned mischievously. "You've seen it too sa!"

"Hmmm . . ." Kirito frowned, assuming a meditative pose, cross legged atop his chair. "But you put a lot of work into recreating your SAO looks, just like Liz and Klein."

"Tis a look I've grown attached to, I can't deny." Argo admitted. "Your point?"

"So then," the Spriggan said out loud, "it was just my imagination that you'd gotten, maybe, a little bigger since SAO . . ."

Dead silence passed between the two Faeries, and a tension so thick it could have been cut with a butter knife. And there was Klein sitting right in the middle of it. 'Oh Shit!'

Argo smiled, although not with her eyes, golden cat slits boring into a point just above the bridge of Kirito's nose. "It was two years, Kii-bou. I filled out."

'Yeah right'. Klein thought, and then gave himself the mental gag. There was no way to tell for sure that 'the Cat' couldn't pick up on his mental waves, and he wasn't exactly looking to get clawed today.

"And besides, you're one to talk with a cheating body like that." Argo waved vaguely to brush over the Spriggan's entire slim frame, but in particular at the small, wiry, and well defined muscles of his arms, shoulders, and chest, the last two adding just a little bit of rounded bulk to the otherwise distressingly thin swordsman.

"She's gotcha there, Kirito." Klein decided to side with Argo for the sake of his health. It was kind of a cheap shot when Kirito had lucked out with the transfer of his game stats and wound up seriously toned for his trouble. As if he needed to be a bigger magnet for girls. 'Leave some for the rest of us damn it!'

Kirito wasn't the sort of guy to let a jab like that get under his _skin_ but he still scowled. "Oy, it's not like I asked for this you know. I was just in a hurry when I created my account, anything was fine."

Argo grinned slyly as she stroked her chin. "Not judging at all, Kii-bou. Stupid hair aside, I bet Aa-chan likes it."

Kirito sighed, glancing over his shoulder in the direction of Asuna who had ended up with Yui, Liz, and Silica along the lagoon's edge. The beautiful Maeve girl really was one of a kind, even with all the other good looking Faerie women, like a princess in her own right. Her swimsuit consisting of a red trimmed white two piece and a long, graceful sarong that wrapped lightly around her hips.

Asuna stood at the shore side, cheering for Yui, dressed in her cute pink one piece with long frilly outer layer hanging off of an inner leotard like a short gown, and Silica in a playful two piece, as the two smaller girls kept up a barrage of splashes in the knee high water against Liz in a halter and hotpants ensemble and Yuuki in her own back baring one piece.

"Come on Yui-chan! We've gotta show'm who's boss!" Silica cried as she was doused with another splash from her traitor partner.

"You're going to have to do better than that Silica-chan!"

"You think?! Pina!" The Cait girl cried to her hovering familiar, the little feathered dragon diving towards the surface of the lagoon, and quickly beginning to guzzle up water until her stomach swelled with startling speed. Struggling back into the air on furious wing beats, Silica singled out the startled Imp girl with a point of her finger. "Let her have it Pina!"

"Krrrrruuuuuyyyyaaaaa" The warbled cry of the little dragon came out distorted on the heels of a jet of surprisingly forcefully ejected water that propelled Pina a good two or three meters back in the air and managed to knock the Imp girl off her feet.

"Quick, this is our chance Silica-san, concentrate on Liz while Yuuki's down!" Yui cried.

"H-hey . . . -ptthht!- . . . No fair . . . !"

"So then." Kirito said slowly. "Argo, when are you going to tell me why Prince Wales and Monmon are here?"

The Prince and the Corkscrew were currently a ways off, apparently having the rules of volleyball explained to them by Kino and a beach ready Caramella, who Klein thought once again, was completely wasted on the fairer sex as she showed off well developed arms, and legs, and _back_ . . . and that part where her legs _met_with her back, _and_ those prominent girl-abs all packaged up in a tight little black and gray sport two piece. Okay so he took it back all back, she was the exact opposite of fat.

The info broker stood up, brushing the sand from her backside with both hands and a flick of her tail. "I can tell you right now if you like, sa." Argo supplied gently. "But hopefully I won't have to, nyah. You might not believe it, but tis really just coincidence that the Prince has business at Ragdorian Lake. It'll probably turn out to be nothing. But I guess Queen Henrietta wanted somebody she could trust to help nearby."

"So our room tab was picked up by the Kingdom." Kirito muttered out loud.

"Neh?" Argo tilted her head.

"The luxury room you booked for us. Someone paid upfront," Kirito explained, "I'm guessing that was you."

"If it twas, tis news to me sa." Argo gave a shake of her head like she was trying to get something out of her hair. "I reserved one of the bungalow rooms. Someone must have changed the arrangements. Maybe the Queen tis apologizing in advance . . . Kii-bou?"

Kirito cast his gaze to the side unhappily, muttering low under his breath something that sounded to Klein like, "That woman . . . You know what, you're right, I'd rather just wait until Wales has something to tell us. Until then, Asuna and I are here to enjoy ourselves." Kirito rested his arms in his lap. "And what about you?"

"What about _me_ nyah? Tis a working vacation." Argo held up her notebook, slapping a cover which proudly proclaimed the '_ALfheim Bestiary: Don't Worry It's Argo's Zoological Companion!_'

"Is that for real?" Kirito squinted at the cover, rubbing his eyes and then reading it again.

"Info gathered from the top authorities across Tristain, double and triple checked, and cited to the last source. Tis a masterpiece in the making sa." The Cait girl grinned proudly as she flipped through the first few pages of dense handwriting, complete with beautiful illustrations drawn on card and held in place by paperclips.

Argo's silent little shadow drifted up onto her master's shoulder. "We're honoring the 'Don't Worry' brand Ba!"

"I've already got tons of info on all the most common mob species sa. I've had to start going out of my way to hunt down details on the uncommon ones."

"Oy, this is pretty amazing." The Salamander accepted the book into his lap, flipping across pages describing the varied and very dangerous beasts of ALfheim, more than a few of which Klein recognized from his own time in the patrols. The pages fell open to the article on Pixies, complete with anatomical sketches of the little sprites and a small note that 'No Pixies were harmed in the creation of this Book! - Argo'. "It's like a total remake of the Game Bestiary."

Argo snorted as if Klein had just delivered a mortal insult. "Excuse me? Tis way more than just some fan wiki. The mobs are way more now than they ever were in that other world." Argo retrieved the book from Klein's hands. "And it's not just their combat behavior either. They're living creatures and we _need_ to know more about them. Some of them a lot more and a _lot_ sooner than others."

"Argo?" Kirito reached into the ice box, now more a mix of ice and ice cold water and retrieved a clear glass bottle of grape juice, offering it to the Cait girl.

"Have you ever thought hard about why it is that the town NPCs didn't get ported over with us, but the Mobs did?" Argo asked. She accepted the bottle from the Spriggan and popped off the cap, pouring some into the lid and giving it to Suisen who drank greedily. "What governed that the mobs would be spawned but not the NPCs?" The info broker took a big swig from her bottle and then wiped her lips with her bare arm. "Tis a question without any good answers."

"Everyone's got an opinion." Klein agreed. "But no one's got any proof."

"So why not ask the mobs?" Argo said.

"Oh yeah!" Klein brightened up. "I mean they're doing pretty . . . Wait what?" Klein did a double take and then slammed a palm against his head as he spied Suisen looking up at him with big brown eyes. "Oy, Pixies!" The little twerps seemed to be choked full of ALfheim lore. Who knew, some of it might even be useful.

"Not _just_ the Pixies." Argo supplied. "Pixies are good, but there are lots of things they didn't have any reason to know about ALfheim. That's why we're trying to talk to the others now."

"You're talking about the Sidhe and other humanoid type mobs, right?" Kirito said. "That can't be easy going."

Argo nodded with her ears, a small dip of the two fluffy puffs of warm fur. "Tis a growing problem sa. The normal town NPCs didn't survive the Transition, but we've been finding plenty of ALfheim's humanoid mobs lately thanks to the patrols and our Pixie friends showing us where to look. Or maybe it's more like they've been finding us. They're getting tired of hiding and curious about the outside world, and are deciding tis high time they started giving us grief again. The humanoid type mobs aren't like beasts, they're smart, and most of them aren't nearly as trusting as the Pixies. Even the ones that don't attack us on sight. They've got their own ideas of what us Faeries are like."

She raised a hand, beginning to tick off fingers. "There have been sightings of Sionnach Sidhe in the forests of Sylvain, the bushy tails have been thieving and pickpocketing and generally taking advantage of their looks to give us Caits a bad name, but we haven't been able to pin them down yet." Another finger. "The Coinen Sidhe are based inland from Freelia where the mob patrols found their warrens. The bunny ears have at least been willing to talk, so long as they get to bring the most guards to meetings. There are Cu Sidhe packs all over the North on the surface, mostly killing Orc bands and re-stealing their stuff." Argo grimaced. "The meeting with them went south real fast a couple of days ago. Nobody killed, none of us anyway, but they took a couple of prisoners back to Muisca to try and figure out what happened."

Klein winced. He'd heard about some of the confrontations up North. Maybe he shouldn't have been so eager to take a station in the Knights when people were still needed on patrol. Training could wait, couldn't it? Except he knew it couldn't.

"Those aren't even the worst. The Cu can at least talk, mostly, if you keep it to small words." Argo muttered something under her breath that didn't sound too flattering. "It gets worse underground. There's a double helping of Dark Dwarves and Rune Iron Knights infesting the corridors and abandoned mines all the way down to the «Jotunheim Gate Fortress». But they're fighting each other. There hasn't been a single report of peaceful contact with the Dark Dwarves, and people are afraid to even go near the Rune Iron Knights' lair. Tis quite the tall order, but tis a golden opportunity too."

"How better to learn anything we don't already know about ALfheim than to ask the natives." Kirito reasoned out loud. "Sort of like hitting up the NPCs in Aincrad."

"Except the Sidhe might be able to give us more than info. Tis what Sakuya and Henrietta-sama think. The ones that don't want to take a bite out of us anyway." Argo said seriously.

"Oy, you're saying we should make an alliance with the mobs?" Klein glanced again to Suisen, the little navigation Pixie turned floaty little mouse girl tilted her head curiously. And why not? It had worked out pretty good with the Pixies. The little gals were still pretty apprehensive about things, but there wasn't any reason not get along, right?

"Some of them. Some of the Sidhe anyways." Argo said dryly. "The Dark Dwarves have already spelled it out that they just want to eat our succulent Faerie Flesh and drink our precious bodily fluids. So _screw_ them." Klein winced, okay, so maybe they couldn't get along with _all_ of them.

"Still, between all the Sidhe, that _could_ be almost five thousand more Demi-Fae on our side. The Coinen Sidhe are great trackers and hunters and can fly almost as well as a Faerie. The Sionnach Sidhe are ground bound but they have really strong magic. Even the Cu Sidhe are tough customers with their raw strength, they're taking apart the Halkegenian and ALfheim Orcs pretty fast judging by the corpses the patrols have been finding."

Argo just sort of sat there, letting the number sink in. Five thousand _more_ Faerie Warriors with powerful abilities and born into this world with not just the skills but the mindset to fight in bloody battle. Maybe they'd be willing to fight beside the Faerie and Tristanians if it was for their home. Reconquista wasn't going to care if they were Sidhe mobs or Faerie players, their necks were _all_ on the chopping block.

"But if we're going to win them over, we need to know more about them to start with. Izaya of the Kurotaka is gathering info on the Cu problem up in Muisca, maybe he'll get something out of his Cu prisoner once she stops trying to _bite_ her minders. Alicia and Zolf lent Mortimer some of their best trackers to hunt for the Sionnach hidden camps, and Thinker, Sakuya, and Zia are going to be meeting with the Coinen Elders about bringing them under the Treaty of Arrun . . . And I got Ragdorian Lake."

"Eh? What mobs live all the way out here?" Klein wanted to know. Other than a desert full of Sand Sharks and some other pretty hardy and nasty wildlife.

"Well, there's the Djinn." Argo answered cheerfully. "They're little astral-elemental type mobs that can combine their magic for powerful attacks. They're supposed to be the rival mob to the Salamanders the way that the other races have their Sidhe and Dwarf adversaries, but they're even more reclusive than the Sionnach Sidhe, and the local Pixie Garden is already on good terms with them anyway." The Cat grinned at Klein, "I'm here for the _Nyriads_."

"Eh?" The Salamander hadn't heard that one before, and after Argo's explanation he was starting to wonder how he _hadn't_.

"You know, _Nyriads? Cute_ legged mermaid girls with strong swimming tails and not a lot of clothes?" 'The Cat' seemed to relish twisting the knife. "They've been showing up along the shores of Ragdorian Lake for the last couple months. I think they're migrating along the river ways from where they spawned near Orlein . . ."

Klein wasn't exactly listening anymore, his mind was still digesting the fact that ALO had scantily clad_mermaids_ and nobody had thought to tell him. 'Kirito, you've been a _bad_ friend.'

"Of course there's the ones who happen to be mer_men_ and they used to try to drown anyone who wasn't an Undine, but reports say they've been pretty benign. Since Aa-chan and Kii-bou were taking a breather down this way I'd planned to gather some info and invite myself to the party. It just so happens that what I'm working on might overlap with the reason that Charming-kun and Corkscrew-chan are here. That enough for you Kii-bou?"

"More than enough." Kirito sighed again, a young man who sighed like an old man. "A work vacation huh? Man, you sure don't take a break."

"It's part of Nee-chan's good work ethic." The Pixie Suisen announced proudly.

Well Klein's work ethic was to work hard and then to relax hard while _drinking_ hard. Which led him back to his lager and the view of the beach.

The Salamander's eyes fell on a pair of tall, downright amazonian women, both of them unmistakable at a glance. The first, her ash skin and loosely worn black hair practically shinning in the light was the Kurotaka's 'Big Sis' Morgiana who was managing to look surprisingly more cute than curvy in black one piece swimsuit, all but its bottom obscured under the white cotton drawstring jacket she was wearing over it.

Then again, she didn't have any reason to try winning anyone over with her sex appeal given the man built like a bronze painted Greek statue beside her. General Eugene was a big man in armor, he was an equally big man in a swimsuit, and also built like an Olympian.

The second woman was as dark skinned as Morgiana was light, and maybe just a centimeter shorter with rich brown hair pulled back in a braid that hung over her right shoulder. Wearing a flattering sun yellow swimsuit that emphasized her figure. Well, the default for Gnome girls seemed to be big, curvy, and cute, which made her a good match for her own big guy.

"What are Eda and Morgiana doing?" Klein squinted at the two women as they had Eugene and Agil line up side by side and seemed to become lost in some sort of deeply technical discussion involving a lot of gesticulating and awkward shifting from side to side of their men.

"Looks like they're comparing husbands." Argo snickered. And neither guy seemed to like it. Well of course not, a man had a right to be sized up on his own merits.

Another new arrival was making his way down the beach, a third Salamander with a wide build and arms and shoulders thick with muscles, his bronze chest shining as he hefted a wooden crate on one shoulder and an adorable little blonde girl in sandals and green swimsuit on the other, a tough looking boy following close behind him in dark green swim trunks.

"Sergeant Carmond, you made it." Asuna waved the approaching Salamander down.

"Sorry we're late Ma'am, had a little trouble getting everything you were looking for in Gaddan's markets. And my little niece here needed to pick out the most perfect bathing suit in the world."

"Uncle!" The little girl flushed as she was put down on her own two feet and a straw hat was placed protectively on her head.

"I'm just glad you could find the time." Asuna smiled as her eyes moved from one child's face to the other. "So these are your Niece and Nephew? Yui's friends? It's a pleasure to meet you both, I'm Asuna, Yui-chan's mama. Yui-chan has told Kirito and I all about you two. Thank you for being her good friends."

The boy scowled and started to say something like, "We're not really . . ."

"Un! We're taking real good care of Yui-chan at school!" The little girl said brightly. "She's super smart, but I help her with everything she doesn't know! Oh, uhm . . . I'm Ba-Balandene by the way. And i-it's also n-nice to meet you and stuff . . ." The girl's blush only deepened. "Yui-chan told us about you too, but I didn't think her mama would look so young and pretty. Ah Sorry!"

Asuna had to cover her mouth to hide a giggle. "There's nothing to be sorry about Ban-chan. I'll take that as a compliment! Why don't you go down to play with Yui-chan and the others?" She gestured down to the shore where another round of splashing had picked up. The little girl, Balandene hurried off, shouting for Yui's attention while her brother stalked after her at a more subdued pace. "Carmond-san, Klein brought cold drinks, feel free to take one and grab a seat in the shade."

"Thank you, Ma'am." The big man nodded. "But I think I should keep an eye on Kazu. She's not the strongest swimmer yet, and besides, I don't get to see her smile often enough . . ."

"Hey, Nii-chan, that's looking pretty comfy." Leafa waves as she made her way up the beach and into the shade beside them. At some point she'd retrieved a lime green jacket she'd left warming in the sun and proceeded to lay the cotton garment out to make a seat in the soft sand beside her brother and the drink box. Another bottle of grape juice disappeared from the cooler with another -snap- of a cap.

"The beach is _beautiful_." The Sylph said after taking a breath. "I though the desert would make it all scrub and rocks, but it's nothing but soft sand. If it's alright, maybe I can take Yui-chan shell hunting along the beach later."

"Are there even sea shells?" Kirito asked as he leaned over and accepted a second bottle from his sister. "It's a lake after all."

"Maybe, there should be, from the transition anyways. This used to be part of desert zone's coast too. So?" The Sylph girl left the question hanging in the air.

"I think it sounds like a _fine_ idea." Asuna said as she stepped into the shade. Kirito scooted over in his chair, leaving enough room for his Maeve wife to seat herself at his side. "But there's something else we have to do first, right Kirito-kun?"

"Un." The Spriggan Faerie nodded seriously. "It's fine for Yui-chan to play around on the shore of the lagoon. But we really should take the chance to teach her to swim."

"Huh?" Suguha's smile suddenly looked a whole lot less confident.

"Yeah." Kirito nodded seriously. "Yui-chan doesn't really know how to swim." The Spriggan gazed in the direction of the small Maeve girl jumping and skipping in the shallows, laughing as she squelched sand between her toes.

"Shiune and Silica-chan are going to be teaching Yuuki-chan with us. Apparently she doesn't quite know how to swim either." Asuna smiled kindly. "It's a bit of a surprise to hear such a good flyer would have trouble in_water_. Why don't you join us Sugu, you're so good with Yui- . . . Suguha?"

The Sylph's smile was all but gone now, along with most of her confidence, she stood up, eyes closed. "T-that's alright . . . I think maybe I should uhm . . . I think I'll go see if Caramella-san needs another player for her game . . ."

"Ah, but Suguha, I'm sure Yui . . ."

"S-She'd probably want to be taught by you two." Suguha laughed as she started putting distance between them. "You guys are gone so much, that would probably be for the best."

Asuna tried to call to her one more time, but the Sylph was already out of reach hurrying down the beach, pretending to already be out of earshot. Asuna touched a hand to her husband's shoulder, giving him that worried 'I know something's wrong' expression that she seemed to have mastered around the same time as her 'I'm in charge and we're doing it my way' expression that had been seen in so many Boss Raids.

Kirito closed his eyes. It was a weird thing to do with Asuna worried like that, but Kirito could say a lot of things by closing his eyes, and right now he seemed to be saying he totally agreed. "Just let her go for right now. We can talk later."

"Is it maybe that Suguha . . ." Asuna's eyes widened. "Kirito, does Suguha not know how to swim?"

"It's not that simple." Kirito supplied. "Actually, she was a really _strong_ swimmer when we were kids. It's just . . . I would have thought she'd have gotten over it by now . . . She had an accident when we were kids and nearly ended up drowning . . . Maybe this wasn't the best place for a trip." Maybe not, if it was going to leave his kid sister distraught like that.

"Or maybe this is a good time for her to face that fear." Asuna suggested easily. "If you don't mind, I can talk to her tonight about it. It might be fun to get her into the water with everyone. But for now, let's worry about Yui-chan's lessons."

"Right. Klein, mind watching our stuff?"

The Salamander just raised his bottle, and then he was left on his own again, well, mostly on his own, Argo was still busily reviewing her notes and Liz was coming over to dry off and pull on a t-shirt.

"Mmmmaaaannn I'm _hungry!_" The Leprechaun groaned. "Winning a fight is hard work, but losing one isn't easy either. Hey, Klein, did you bring anything but cold drinks and booze?"

"Oy, I'll have you know young lady, I brought ingredients for my world class shishkebab." Klein announced proudly, only to have the wind taken out of his sails rather suddenly by a loss of interest from Liz.

"I was thinking something that could be eaten right now. But I guess I can always hit up the stalls. Any 'young girl' what are you Klein? Like fifty?"

Klein scowled as he cracked a look at the Leprechaun girl. "Old enough to know hunger is nature's best spice!"

Argo snickered. "So what you're saying is that your cooking would be 'World Class' if we were famine victims?"

Man, why did he even bother with these kids? Klein wondered. Kids these days just didn't have any manners. Why, when he was a young lad, he hadn't even had a smart phone until he was in highschool! And he'd had to walk _all_ the way to the train station, no renting a public bike from a kiosk, no siree! Then again, they were good kids, deep down, mostly.

"Just remember to save me one of these 'World Class' shishkebabs so I can decide for myself, alright Klein?" Liz laughed as she slapped him on the back.

"Will you people please shut up?" The pile of blankets beside Argo began to heave and then slowly rise, the bleary and cynical features of a second Leprechaun, this one gold haired and pigtailed, well, half pigtailed, one of the ribbons had come undone, letting down wiry golden hair that fell all the way to her shoulder blades. After fumbling with the undone hairpiece for a minute, Kofu decided symmetry was more important and simply undid the other one, shaking her head blearily. "What are you people even doing up at this evil hour?"

"Yeah, it's not even noon yet." Liz informed her difficult master. The apprentice Leprechaun came over and squatted down, placing a hand firmly on the other girl's head. "Come on, you've been free running so long you don't even remember what daylight's supposed to look like. Look, see? Beach, fresh air, not too many people, you can handle that, right?"

Kofu rubbed blearily at an eye as if she was adjusting the focus on an old camera. When she finished, she snorted, crawling out the rest of the way from her blanket nest and tugging at the collar of her blouse. "N-Not dressed for this . . . huh . . . Not dressed for it at all." She mumbled in distaste. "Look too damn out of place."

"You look out of place _every_place." Liz muttered under her breath but said much nicer and more soothing things to her master's face. "There, there, come on, how about you have something to drink, you're all sweaty."

"Y-yeah right . . . right."

Kofu had gotten a bottle into her hand and taken a sit down while Liz stretched and put on sandals. "Just try doing normal beach things for a little while, huh? I mean, you know what those are right? You've been to the beach before, right? Or at least you've read about it."

Liz looked out over the beach along with Klein. Kirito and Asuna where in the water now, along with Yui. The trio had ventured out to waist depth where Kirito had taken to holding onto Yui while his daughter laid herself out horizontally and experimented with kicking her arms and legs. From what Klein could remember, most of being able to swim was confidence and not panicking. Knowing Yui, she'd probably have it down in no time.

Nearby a second swimming lesson was taking place between Silica, Shiune, and the exuberant Imp girl Yuuki, this one helped along by an Undine swimming instructor giving pointers while the Imp girl struggled and laughed.

And the crazy thing about it, Klein thought. Take away the Faerie ears, and this could have been anyplace else. A nice, scenic resort on some secluded beach. Someplace where the wild life couldn't eat you whole, and a crazy bastard wasn't trying to kill them all because they didn't fit in his religion. But here and now, yeah, life was pretty good.

Klein reached into his cooler and frowned as his hand came back empty. "Oy, hey that bottle!" Klein grunted as he saw just what Kofu was drinking down like water. Those had been expensive!

"I needed a drink." Growled Kofu under her breath. "Sometimes you just need a little liquid courage, w-when you're surrounded by so many hunks in t-tight pants." She started to snicker nervously, and it occurred to Klein that he wasn't the only one presently enjoying the view. "Out of place . . . too d-damn out of place . . ."

"Tis the truth that good looks cut both ways sa." Argo gave another little Cheshire smile. But not even 'the Cat' was smiling at what happened next.

"Not dressed for this at all." The Leprechaun was still muttering under her breath as she began to loosen her belt and un-tuck her shirt.

"Hey, Kofu!" Liz tried to intervene. "What the heck are you doing you weird hikikimori?"

"S-Sticking out like a sore thumb. Need s-some camouflage b-before the hot guys notice!"

Her pants went down and her shirt went up . . . and Klein was glad he'd finished his lager. It would have been a waste of a good beer to do a spit take at what had to be the most unexpectedly _curvy_ derriere to ever grace his proximity, presently modeling a pair of extremely tight cotton shorts. 'Klein . . . come on Klein . . . think straight . . . what is _happening_?!'

"W-What's that look over apprentice?" Kofu asked as she kicked her pants off of her feet. "A bra and panties are basically a bikini, right?" Argo and Liz shared a leer, because honestly, how _couldn't_ they, and then proceeded to shake their heads vigorously.

As it turned out, there was a world of difference between «Vaguely Aggressive Masculine Smith» Kofu and «Full Figured Underwear Model» Kofu and most of that difference was in what she _wasn't_ wearing. How to put it . . . Klein tried hard to be poetic when describing a woman's body but really . . . It was like all of the curves of a grown woman were trying to pack themselves onto someone slightly shorter than Liz, with enough muscle to keep it all from sagging, and the effect stacked up, and . . . 'S_tacked_ . . . Bad Klein!'

The Leprechaun paused long enough to adjust the straps of her bra and pinched at her flat belly. "Heh, looks like v2.0 upgrade is still in effect, all the fat is finally going to the right places." Kofu reached for the bottle she'd left on the ground and then started to laugh in that rasping stutter stop snicker. "H-hey . . . A-Apprentice . . . giving me that look . . . L-Like you're disgusted I'm drinking."

"Because the last thing I need from you is for you to become an alcoholic minor." Liz said flatly.

"Heh . . . heh! H-how old do you th-think yo-your master really is huh?"

"Eh?"

"J-Just because I wanted to relive my b-best b-best years . . . my parents called me a parasite daughter . . . huh?"

"Eh!"

Liz wasn't given an opportunity for a comeback as Kofu finished Klein's bottle with a satisfied gasp and cast a leer in his direction that made him distinctly uncomfortable. "Erm . . ." He started as she reached over, as in bent over _and_ reached over and pinched appraisingly at his bicep. "E-Excuse me?"

"I said you're no hunk, but I guess you'll do . . ."

"Uhm . . ."

"Just get some of that sunscreen . . ."

Sunscreen . . . Hot girl in a 'bikini' . . . Sunscreen. Hot girl in a Bikini. Sunscreen hot girl in a bikini. Sunscreenhotgirlinabikini . . . This wasn't how he'd expected this to happen!

"Come on, I'll let you get my back, that's what you do at a beach, right?"

Klein took one step back then another, and then was stopped by a hand from behind as he tried to crawl out of his chair. Liz stood over him, looking on with a blank and listless stare. "Klein?"

"Err . . . Liz"

"Just enjoy yourself Klein." He felt a cold glass bottle being put firmly into his hand as Liz pushed him forward out of his seat. "You deal with her insanity for a while!"


	2. Chapter 2

Halkegenia Online - Beach Episode - Chapter 2

'Okay.'

After psyching herself out for what felt like hours, she took her first step into the surf. Water, cool and clear, rose to her ankles . . .

Kirigaya Suguha . . .

'You've fought giant serpents and dragons, you've flown right into spellfire, you've kept it together this far, you can do this.'

To her knees . . .

The Swordswoman Leafa . . .

'Good so far. It's just water . . . It's just water . . . Just think of it like taking a cold bath . . . '

Down to her waist, hips sinking through the surface as the cold prickled up her stomach and then lapped against her chest . . .

Lieutenant of the Arrun City Watch . . .

'A cold bath, it's just cold bath water, you can just close your eyes and relax . . .'

She raised her arms over her head. She had to work hard not to shiver.

And now a Faerie of the Sylph race in the world of Halkegenia . . .

'Cold bath, cold bath, it's just like a cold bath, feet are on the floor, cold bath . . .'

And then one more step, a terrifying step that caused her feet to part from the sand beneath them, the water rising perilously around her neck as she reflexively kicked to keep her head above water and . . . and . . . Cold all around her, pressing in, pressing in, couldn't breathe!

"NNNNNnnnaaaaagghh!"

As quickly as she'd started, the Sylph began to panic, out of her element, her motions violent as she batted herself backwards in the water, feet touched precariously on soft and shifting sand and then pushing off again to send her splashing towards shore. As soon as her back was free above the surface, four long green wings erupted and spread themselves like air brakes, all but throwing the Sylph clear of the water and back into a skidding landing on the beach.

Suguha was still panting as she lay on the ground, feeling her racing pulse slow, and the faint trembling all over beginning to subside, the twisting squirming sensation inside her belly and the tightness in her chest receding until she could breathe again. None of that made her feel any better.

She couldn't do it. Even though she should have been able to, she just . . . couldn't do it. That failure stung more than she'd imagined possible. She'd just thought . . . no . . . she didn't know what she'd thought. That it would be easy?

Green eyes snapped open, looking straight up into the deepening afternoon sky, opened so that the sting had someplace to go, two hot streaks running down the sides of her face. Not because she was sad, but because she was scared, and ashamed.

"It's just water." Suguha said out loud. She didn't have a problem with baths, with walking by the shore, with the idea of the water. She could even remember a time when she hadn't been terrified to dive right in. So why did it seem like the scariest thing in the world when she tried to swim in it? But she knew the answer to that. At least she hadn't humiliated herself in front of everyone. Sitting up slowly, the Sylph crossed her legs and cast her eyes sullenly left and right. She'd been sure to pick a spot out of sight from the beach party, so at least no one had seen her. No one she knew anyway.

"Just what are you doing?"

"Naaaaggghh!"

Suguha was back on her feet in a flash, almost popping her wings in her hurry. Brushing the sand from her back, the Sylph turned horrified to the source of the voice to be confronted by a girl in a modest one piece swimsuit, golden hair long and thick like a cape of ringlets. A human girl who appeared neither surprised nor particularly judgmental, just curious, about what had to look like some sort of weird ritual. And a boy, well, a young man actually, hat pulled down around fringes of blond hair, with his hands tucked into the pockets of his cotton drawstring jacket in a cool and easy sort of way.

"Are you . . . alright, Miss Leafa?" The blonde young man asked, very sincerely, and without a hint of meanness. The Prince, Suguha reminded herself quickly, although that just made it somehow worse. 'I-I'm on a first name basis with a Prince!' Well, mostly, it was more like she had met him once or twice through Asuna and her brother and she had been told to simply call him Wales during those private meetings. Suguha was pretty sure she was messing it up right now.

"Ah . . . uhm . . . Wales-sa-san and . . . Montmorency-san." Leafa bowed slightly to both of the mages. "I-It was nothing . . . Just . . . my wings!"

"Your wings?"

"Yeah I was . . . testing them out . . ." Leafa supplied as she hooked a thumb over her shoulder and toward the water. 'What am I saying?' Even desperate enough to make any excuse, it sounded fake to her ears. "I've never tried using them in the water and I was wondering if I could get more speed that way . . . Uhm . . ." The Prince stood there, just stood, very quiet, and very focused on her face. There was no way he was going to buy that. There was no way.

Wales smiled and nodded confidently. "Of course, I should have expected nothing less from someone like Sir Kirito's sister. Please, forgive our interruption, Miss Montmorency was merely expressing her concern . . ." The ringleted girl looked much less convinced " . . . Shall we be on our way then, Miss Montmorency . . . ?"

Montmorency nodded without taking her eyes from Suguha.

"Are you leaving already?" Leafa wondered out loud. It had certainly been surprising to run into the Prince of Albion here of all places, but even Royalty had to rest, and it was definitely the sort of place to spend a short vacation. But it had sounded like he'd just gotten there this morning. "I was sure you'd at least stay for dinner . . . "

"That we are." He said conversationally. "I would hardly miss a chance to join with good friends and besides . . ." Wales suddenly turned much less pleasant, scowling heavily, though not really directing it at anybody " . . . I have been ordered to make the best of this and get some rest to preserve my health. I cannot say it is a command that agrees with me. I thought that a walk of the beach would do me some good. That is, while we have time." He nodded to the blonde corkscrew girl accompanying him.

"There's no point in going out before moonsrise. It's been tried at every other time by every other member of the family already." The Water Mage answered mysteriously. Montmorency crossed her arms, shoulders squirming a little as she adjusted her swimsuit like she wasn't used to it. "There's no reason for you not to take the opportunity."

"Of course," Wales nodded, "It has been quite some time since I've been by the lake shore." The Prince seemed to remember something fondly as he looked out over the lagoon. Anyways, Suguha didn't dare interrupt his happy recollection. "It was a more verdant place then. How completely it has been transformed." He sighed wistfully. "Still, this place has a beauty of its own." Shaking his head, the Prince reached out a hand. "Miss Leafa?"

"Uh . . ."

"If you have satisfied your curiosity, would you be so kind as to join us? Taking in the view is always best done with company, wouldn't you agree?"

"O-Oh . . . right . . ." Why not? A little walk might even make her feel better, and if that wasn't enough, a short flight around the beach couldn't hurt, Suguha thought as Wales retrieved her jacket and helped her into it. The Sylph took her sandals but didn't put them on, instead walking barefoot in the soft and still warm sand.

"So, Wales-san, you said you've visited the lake side before? Was it a vacation?" Suguha felt stupid for asking that. Didn't Royals have much more important things to do than vacations? Obviously they had to take breaks like everyone else, but it was almost definitely never just a vacation, right?

"A family gathering, you would say." Wales answered as they walked at an easy pace, the Prince veering towards the water so that he could walk in the surf. "It would have taken place not too far from here. But that was years ago. Now it feels even further back. It was a simpler time. Or perhaps it only seemed that way. I was young in any case . . ."

Suguha giggled, that probably wasn't very good etiquette in the company of Royalty, but she couldn't help it, Wales seemed kind enough to understand. "You're still young."

"Really?" He smiled tiredly. "But I feel so very old recently. Perhaps this blasted 'battle wound'", he tapped against his chest and chuckled, "Is still slowing me down?" His hand fell as he walked on easily. And then he seemed very distant and thoughtful. "Or more likely, it is the burden I have inherited. Tell me, Miss Leafa, have you ever carried a weight that bore heavier when you set it down?"

"Uhm . . . That sounds like a philosophy question. You might want to go get Nii-chan for that." How exactly was she supposed to answer that anyways?

"Of course, pay that no mind, it was a riddle of sorts." The blond boy's eyes wandered out to the horizon. "Merely my thinking out loud."

"No it's fine." Leafa insisted, walking a little faster so that she could get ahead and lean over to smile back at him. "I totally get what it's like to feel like you should be doing something right now, even when you can't. It's the worst, like you're kicking your legs in thin air."

"With due respect, Miss Leafa," Montmorency sniffed, "I very much doubt your experiences are much at all comparable to the trials experienced by a Prince."

"Uh . . . oh . . . uhm . . ." Suguha tried to supply an answer, but nothing came out. It was probably because the Water Mage was right. She could say what she wanted, but her own experiences were pretty small and unimportant compared to what Wales had seen and done.

"Please, Miss Montmorency, the gulf between two people is never so great for that to be true. Struggles great and small can mean the same thing through different eyes." The Prince touched Suguha's shoulder gently and squeezed. "Kicking on thin air? Yes, I'd say that is a good way to describe it."

And so Suguha had nodded. Privately, it felt sort of good being praised like that, even for a small thing. The little victories had been how she'd gotten this far. Focusing on the things she could do, getting better at them, and finding ways to be of use. Learning from everyone else, and getting better that way too. It was just that sometimes the victories she wanted were outside of her reach. But for now . . . the small victories.

"Think of it like training." Leafa said firmly.

"Hmm?" Wales blinked. "Pardon?"

"When you train your body, you damage your muscles and ligaments so that you have to stop and recover." The Sylph explained from plenty of experience. "But that's okay, because the time spent healing makes you stronger. Working hard is good, but if you've worked hard, then you'll make progress even while you're resting. I mean . . . I guess I don't know if it's the same for everything . . ." Suguha clasped her hands behind her back. "I can only talk about training. Maybe actually it's not the same thing at all . . ."

"You might be surprised." The Prince said. "It is discouragingly common for any matter to come down to waiting. I will try to take your advice to heart. My men at least would surely appreciate your words." Wales stopped, squinting into the distance and then putting on an intensely bemused expression. "I do believe some of them already have."

The beach goers were starting to thin out as the evening neared, some heading back to Gaddan while others retreated from the shoreline towards torch lit bungalows and the fire pits nearer to the walls of the outpost. The smell of roasting meat was heavy and savory in the smokey air as the serving staff hurried around long outdoor benches to deliver drinks and food to the guests, human and Faerie alike.

It hadn't escaped Suguha's notice that the service staff were almost all girls, and very pretty girls at that, who seemed to be having a good time while they worked the night crowd like pros. It probably wasn't an exaggeration to say that their «Sex Appeal» was a major part of what drew the beach going guests to stay for dinner, the male guests anyways.

As for the girls, Suguha pressed her lips together, they were staying for the serving staff too. If Argo was right about the number of people who had perfected their looks in Full Dive Games, gorgeous Faerie women weren't going to be the sorts of people to give up any of their new found positive attention no matter how pretty the competition was. Some of them had even resorted to some really «Underhanded» tricks to keep ahead of the seasoned native girls.

"Sir Thetcher?" A pale skinned and fiery haired Salamander woman, who looked to be just barely old enough to drink, said the name in a deliberately husky voice. "So then you're one of her majesty's Knights?" She asked the human man she was presently sitting beside. Or not, Suguha corrected with a little blush, sitting on. Sitting in his lap to be exact, and squirming so thoughtlessly in an astonishingly bold red bikini that showed off her good figure. Even when ALO had been a game, wearing something like that would have been too embarrassing, wouldn't it?!

"A Knight of the Good Prince Wales Tudor." The Knight dressed in simple and lightweight casual wear answered as he too began to shift and squirm in response to the girl on top of him. It seemed he was getting a little distracted by the way she was running her index finger in circles over his chest.

Suguha felt her temperature rising just watching the scene play out. This was the sort of thing that was supposed to happen in bad fiction, not real life! 'Sir Thetcher seemed to think so as well as he tried to gently ease her back by the shoulders. "Though I have given my allegiance to Queen Henrietta, I am also a Knight of Albion in service to our valiant Prince!"

One of Wales' security detail? Suguha wondered to herself. Should he be getting distracted like that? He was going to have his work cut out for him either way. The Salamander woman's smile widened as she very deliberately shifted her weight to make herself more comfortable and him less. And as if to make things worse, a second girl had gotten started clinging to his arm who, on a closer look, happened to be a perfect copy of the first, right down to her risqué swimwear.

"So what brings a Knight all the way down to Gaddan." The first girl's twin asked. "I didn't think we warranted any of the Dragon Knights. Especially not with Lord Mortimer's garrison battalion already on station." She pouted her lips. "You aren't here to protect us now are you?"

"It's just, Gaddan's a nice place to live thanks to Mort-kun and his people. Galinda and I really like the local workers we've been able to hire too. It would sure be reassuring knowing the Knights were here to keep us safe."

"N-Not exactly per se . . . that is . . . in a general sort of way we have . . ." The Knight looked as flushed as Suguha felt as he tried to formulate a reply.

"Oh, aren't you adorable!" The first woman giggled.

"He is, isn't he Elfi?" Her twin answered back.

Where being fawned over by pretty girls had stunned him, being teased finally gave Sir Thetcher a chance to get his wits about him. "Now you see here Miss, this is quite improper, you and your twin . . ."

"We're not!" Both women said together merrily, like it was a joke they'd been waiting to tell for hours.

"W-What?"

"Twins." The first woman explained mischievously. "We're not."

"Not even Sisters." The other agreed. "Elfi and I have been competing with each other for so long. It just seemed so silly that we not have something we couldn't compete over."

"But we still wanted to be able to compete."

"So we decided to share our looks."

"It's nice isn't it."

"And very convenient."

"Makes it easy to know what we look good in."

"Sharing clothes is a breeze."

"Of course we look good in everything."

"Or nothing."

"Though I guess there might be a bit of a problem." The second twin sighed as she leaned in, very deliberately pressing herself against the almost catatonic Knight. "What will happen if we find a guy we both like?" She asked seemingly to the empty air.

Sir Thetcher's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. He was probably going to say something when the first 'Twin' added. "Well, that's easy. When we find him, we can just share him!"

Beside her, Suguha heard the Montmorency girl huff and mutter under her breath. "Fae are such deviants!"

And how did Suguha answer that when it was sort of true and right in front of her? "We also have good hearing." Leafa said, bumping the other girl with her shoulder. Now it was 'Monmon's' turn to look surprised as she tried to cover herself with a diplomatic sounding reply.

"Well, what I meant is not all of you of course." Montmorency replied, gesturing vaguely to the men and women, most of whom were engaged in far more wholesome evening activities, talking, playing games, or cuddled up near the bonfires. "But women like that . . . flaunting their bodies so blatantly . . . A stranger might be as familiar with them as their own husbands!"

Wales began to chuckle, mortifying Montmorency in the process. "And yet we are truly not so very different."

"Excuse me?" Monmon waved to the scene playing out as they continued their walk down the beach.

"Believe it or not, Miss Montmorency, there is a proper place for loosened inhibitions." Wales sounded like he knew a lot about such places and wasn't all that bothered by that knowledge. Well, he had been a Ship's Captain, and sailors had a reputation across worlds from what Suguha had learned, a little embarrassingly, while serving with the Watch. "And those women are perfectly within their rights to do as they please. The Fae do not bind them to any standard save lawfulness and they have no expectations but their own to meet. Their actions are their own . . ." Wales trailed off as if thinking of something before realizing he'd been distracted. "If they press the bounds of propriety then it is only what they've earned to be chastised when they take one step too far. Though I must say, this is the first time I've seen Sir Thetcher so very abashed."

The Knight Sir Thetcher, lucky or unlucky depending on perspective, was presently pinned in place by the weight of the two identical and identically beautiful young Salamander women talking in identical voices and making identical gestures as they playfully argued. "I've never known him to be any less than eager to make himself familiar with a woman's body." Maybe because the women looked eager to get familiar with his first. Suguha pointedly averted her eyes.

Sir Thetcher managed to sit a little more rigid when he caught sight of the Prince, and looked more than a little sheepish, because there was certainly no way he was actually able to keep watch like that. Although on second thought, it might have been because Montmorency was glaring daggers at him with almost tangible «Killing Intent».

"Besides, Miss Montmorency, the Fae are not the only ones with their eccentricities. If I might direct your attention elsewhere."

That elsewhere being a rather hard to miss man, at least Suguha thought he was a man, despite the eyeliner and heavy lipstick. He definitely looked like a man, almost as big as Agil or General Eugene, filling out an old fashioned single piece swimsuit that covered him from knees to elbows and stretched tight across a large and well-muscled body. His voice too, speaking very out of key as he tried to imitate a falsetto, badly.

"Remember my Lovely Sirens, what is the motto of our establishment?!" With every word the man flexed and bulged for emphasis and Suguha felt the urge to double over with laughter, made all the funnier by the serving staff who seemed to be hanging on his every word.

"Service with a smile, Mademoiselle!"

"And our most important pledge?!"

"Collect lots of tips!"

"Tres Bien!" The tremendously muscled man pulled his arms behind his neck in a decidedly ridiculous pose. "Remember my girls, you are not now Charming Faeries but Lovely Sirens of the beach! Our Charming Inn may be lost to fire, but we shall rebuild thanks to our generous Patron. Until then, let us be grateful to the General for this opportunity!"

"Yes Mademoiselle!"

"Please, tell me Miss Montmorency, I do believe this establishment rests quite directly atop your family's lands." Wales mused out loud. "Would that not mean your family has condoned its staff and rather unique atmosphere? As I recall in fact that approval was given as a favor to General Gramont by your father, to help a friend of his."

After recovering from her shock, Montmorency set her lips into a tight little line. "I don't know." She said tonelessly. "And I have no opinion." Her eyes narrowed. "But I do intend to ask after father about this . . . this den of perversion!"

The two girls shared a look and nodded for the first time in complete agreement. "Yeah." Suguha couldn't really blame her. In fact, it was probably good that they'd decided to have their cook-out on the far side of the lagoon. And also that there hadn't been any need for her brother to display his swordsmanship in front of these people. The Sylph squinted, she didn't think the trip would be nearly so relaxing if that were the case.

"Just what is that?" Montmorency stopped, squinting at a sign that hung over one of the kiosks that was still open and doing steady business with the beach goers.

The servers behind the counter were human boys supervised by a young looking Undine calling out instructions to his assistants while working some sort of weird hand cranked machine that looked new and shiny to Suguha's sharp eyes. She could guess at what the machine was, and she could definitely tell what the faint sickly sweet smell in the air signified even before she read the sign or saw a heavyset magician walking away, holding a scoop of ice cream within a thin, crispy waffle.

"It's an Ice Cream stand." Suguha answered helpfully. "Montmorency-san, don't you go to the Academy? I'm surprised you haven't seen one before." The students of the Academy were frequent visitors to Arrun, the Faerie city having become something of a spectacle for them. And usually, anything being sold or traded in the market district would fast draw their attention. 'Faerie' style Ice Cream had definitely been well received at least, and had become a high point in more than a few sightseeing trips.

Of course, the 'tourism' had also drawn more than a few troublemakers too. At least with the troop levies the Watch was dealing with quite so many accusations of perverts.

Montmorency didn't say anything at first, then she shrugged indifferently. "I've only been to Arrun on business. For the time being the family doesn't have the time or funds for frivolity."

That was the first time Suguha had ever heard someone call ice cream frivolous with such contempt. It made the decision much easier as she fished around her jacket pocket for her coin purse.

"Hey, what are you . . . ?" Montmorency began as the Sylph girl took her hand and pulled her towards the line.

"Sorry, but I can't let that stand. Nobody talks bad about ice cream without trying it first." The line was long, but that didn't matter, it just meant the ice cream would be good. Honestly, the day Arrun's first parlor had opened in the Arrun Tower Arcade, morale in the Faerie city had taken a spike that had never gone away.

In the end, Montmorency had pulled free and refused to wait in the line, instead standing impatiently beside the takeout box on the side of the Kiosk and casting suspicious glances at anyone who so much as looked at her funny. That left Leafa, and of all people, Wales standing in the line like a tourist in his boonie hat and shorts.

'Looking like a couple.' The embarrassing little thought echoed inside of her head and then was stamped out, hard, again and again as Suguha furiously aborted that train of thought. Where had she ever gotten such an unhealthy imagination?

More importantly. "Uhm . . .Wa . . . I mean Pri . . . Hey, is it okay for you to just be standing in a crowd like this?"

The Prince of Albion tilted his head to the side and smiled. "You mean in the midst of a crowd of people, who do not know my face, and do not expect to see me? And in such a place and with such a hat I might be assumed nothing more than another Faerie? Miss Leafa, I assure you that this is perfectly acceptable."

Maybe as long as he didn't open his mouth. Just the way he talked would probably give him away. At least, if anyone was paying attention. At least, that was what Suguha thought . . . at least . . . There was a certain stillness to the Prince, his eyes on the horizon and his lips moving silently. Suguha finally realize what seemed wrong. Despite his calm air and friendly disposition. Wales didn't seem happy.

"Wales-san?" Suguha asked, keeping her voice low but conversational. With Faerie hearing, the best way to avoid being overhead was to make sure your conversation didn't sound like anything people would want to listen in on. "Taking a break isn't what you're worried about, is it?"

The Prince blinked quickly as he realized he was being spoken to. His expression softened. "And you weren't testing your wings in the water. Were you?"

Suguha blushed quickly, "Actually . . .", but no, she stopped and shook her head. If she wanted an honest answer, she had to give an honest answer. "Actually, it was about my fears, I was trying to confront them. One of them, anyways."

"A Faerie who flies the skies on only her wings", the Prince mocked in a kind voice, "Afraid of anything? My, I would think that impossible!"

"I know, right?" She sort of wanted to laugh, just laugh, the good kind of laughing, not bitter or hurt. Wales was teasing, but it was gentle teasing, like what her brother would do when she was upset or being down on herself. Or at least what Kazuto would try to do. Usually he messed it up a little. "Okay, so now you, what's the real reason for the glum looks?"

Before Wales could answer, they reached the front of the line. Seeing as the items were completely meaningless to the Prince, who the Sylph was fairly certain had never seen an ice cream parlor in his life, Suguha ordered for them and paid the chipper young commoner.

While waiting at the pickup box, Wales began his explanation. "I suppose it is not so different from what I mentioned to you earlier. This waiting about does not settle well with me. At least in Albion, even when the battle was hopeless, there was always something that needed to be done. And I felt at that time like I at least was of use to her in some small way."

"Her?" Suguha accepted the order, three drinks in wooden cups with thick bamboo-like straws. "You mean Henrietta-sama."

"Tell me, Miss Leafa. This might be quite private, so I will understand if you decline to say. But have you ever been in love with someone?"

Suguha started. "I . . ." And then Suguha stopped.

Right, no lying. But what was the truth? The truth? The truth, if she was being honest, really honest, was that yes, she did know a little about being in love. She answered with a small nod. And if she was being even more honest, then not only had she been in love, but she was still in love with Kazuto, as shameful as that might have been to admit even to herself.

She understood why it was wrong. She didn't want to act on it, especially after meeting Asuna and coming to love her and Yui dearly as well. And her heart didn't ache when she thought about it anymore. It was just . . . She couldn't just turn off how she felt. She'd fallen in love with Kazuto, probably for all of the wrong reasons, and maybe even for some right one, and she knew one day she'd have to properly fall out of love with him while figuring out the place he should belong in her heart.

But until that day, she couldn't say it wasn't true, and she wouldn't say it hadn't happened.

"Love is one of life's great mysteries." Wales took a sip from his drink. "What did you call this confection?"

"Strawberry Milkshake." Suguha talked around her straw. "You were saying?"

Wales swirled his cup, and then simply shrugged. "Coming here, even changed as it is, is a reminder of when last I was on these shores. I suppose what the Spirits say is true. The waters may change, but the lake is the same. I was accompanying my father and brothers and . . . It was the first time I met Henrietta."

Suguha lowered her cup and listened. She listened closely, because the way Wales had just said it was like someone not sure if they should be saying these things aloud.

Wales chuckled again. "I suppose I would sound mad for saying that it was love at first sight. And perhaps it is mad to see a girl and think that is enough to know anything at all, but it was love, puppy love at least, younger and more foolish then we are now. But we made an impression on one another, and we wrote to each other, and I think it was the words we put to pen that made me remain in love with her."

"But that's wonderful isn't it?" Suguha thought aloud. "Henrietta-sama loves you as well in just the same way, you can . . ." Her eyes widened as Suguha realized what she was about to say, and realized just why she was mistaken. "Oh . . ."

"Henrietta's father, my uncle, was Queen Marianne's husband and the Prince Consort of Tristain. He and my father were always gentle to one another. And thanks to him, Tristain and Albion enjoyed close ties for nearly two decades. It was hoped that his Holiness would grant his approval of another marriage between our lines in our generation to cement that alliance. Those are the circumstances we began to fall in love under. But now . . ."

"I love Henrietta. But I am an exile Prince, next to nothing to my name. I live at her suffrage, my hopes of retaking Albion exist at her patronage. Even my life has been given to me, in all gratitude by Henrietta and you Faeries. And it is true that I am profoundly grateful. But as I am now," Wales shook his head, "as much as I love her, as much as I would do anything for her . . . I can reach out and touch her. And yet she is beyond my reach."

Suguha couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Albion must be reclaimed. In this my concerns as a Prince and my personal concerns align. I can wed Queen Henrietta de Tristain as the King Wales Tudor of Albion or not at all. But to do that, Albion will have to be taken in war. It is a daunting task to even fathom, I should know better than most. Even with the help of you Faeries it might only be barely attainable if at all. And in the meantime, Henrietta is uniquely vulnerable for all her title as Queen. Our missives might have doomed an alliance with Germania, but there are still those who will be tempted to offer aid for Henrietta's hand in marriage. Perhaps not so lofty as the King, but many nonetheless. Both in Germania and in Tristain."

"But Henrietta would never do that." Leafa insisted confidently. She knew the Queen wasn't like that. She knew because she had seen it in her every move and word when she and Yui had been her guests. "She just wouldn't."

"I know." Wales said softly. "While my cousin may not marry me, she can refuse as many requests as she likes. And I know she will continue to do so, even if that renders her rule precarious. Too many offers passed by, too many opportunities missed . . . She is a popular Queen with the people, and even the Nobility are solidly behind her for now. But opinions can change, they can fray and fatigue, especially in war, and more so if her decisions appear careless. My cousin plays a difficult balancing game and already I've seen it beginning to wear heavy on her shoulders. So perhaps you can see why, loving as you do, and I loving her as I do, the reason for my unease."

Wales looked her in the eyes. "It is the same for both of us I'm sure. For the person we love, we want to be able to do everything for them that they do for us."

* * *

Night had come to the outpost by the lake. The moons shone high up in the sky with only the sullen glow of Gaddan's lights in the near distance to contend them. The outpost was still and quiet. The cooking flames had been smothered, the last bonfires had burned out. Sunrise was closer than sunset and the beach guests had either returned home to the city, or retreated to their rented rooms.

Most everyone was asleep now, save a few lookouts, a nocturnal nest of feathered dragons that hunted from beneath the eaves, and a single Imp sitting upright on her guest futon among a crowded room of sleeping Faeries.

Though she had run and jumped and flown herself ragged, and though tiredness dragged at her now like an anchor wrapped around her brain, sleep would not come to the Imp Konno Yuuki. She cast her eyes to the left. «Night Fighters», Imps had good night vision, superhuman even, but she didn't need it to see the girl lying beside her, small and cute as a kitten, her arms wrapped loosely around a nesting draconic form.

Her name was Silica, Ayano Keiko, and she was her friend. The first new friend Yuuki had made in this world. And the very first friend she'd made «Face to Face» in a very long time. The thought made a pleasant warmth rise inside Yuuki's chest. She reached out, fingers spread, and very delicately gave the Cait Girl's big, triangular ears a gentle stroke.

Silica gave a small start and "Mugu" in her sleep, the Feathered Dragon in her arms rousing just enough to coo soothingly and then tucking her head back beneath her wings. 'Warm.' Yuuki thought as she stroked. And very soft. Like fresh down feathers.

Then, Yuuki turned her attention to the right, and the small family that was nestled there, safely in sleep. A young man, and a young woman, sleeping to either side of a little dark haired girl, the spitting image of her mama and with hair as black as her Papa's. They looked much too young to be the girl's parents, but they acted the part perfectly. Even while sleeping, each held onto one of their daughter's hands as she stirred and smiled in happy dreams.

Yuuki had to remember to thank them again for letting her tag along with Silica. Kirito and Asuna had gone really out of their way to make her feel welcome. It was nice. And it was nice knowing that they weren't doing it for any special reason.

Anyway, tired as she was, she couldn't sleep like this. Too quiet. Delicate Imp ears picked up the small rustlings of blankets, the sounds of sleep, and the faint brush of the wind against the tower walls. Or maybe not too quiet, but the wrong kind of quiet.

There was no rhythmic beeping of diagnostic machinery, no sounds of orderlies walking the halls outside, no steady, low hum of filterers cleansing the air. There was no metallic taste in her mouth from breathing that filtered air either.

The Imp tugged at the loose collar of her nightshirt, cotton warm from her own trapped body heat. She knew if she stayed lying like this, she'd start to get hot, then sweaty and gross. Then she'd never get back to sleep.

So, silent as she could, Konno Yuuki had gotten up, and careful to step lightly, made her way around and between the other sleeping forms. Her best efforts not always quite good enough. An occasional creak rose from the wood beneath the balls of her feet, a promise of more noise if she tread too heavily. 'Please stay quiet Mister Floorboards!' And for whatever reason, her earnest plea was answered, as she could only have hoped, by complete silence as she slipped out through the balcony door and out into the surprising cool night air.

'Brrrr!' It was a thought rather than something she said out loud, but Yuuki still felt a little urge to hug herself as the warmth escaped. And then, standing alone, the Imp's arms fell to her sides as she walked to the edge of the balcony and placed her hands on the railing.

Here was where Imp «Night Vision» really came in handy. Under the light of the moons, the shadows retreated, and the beach over the walls of the outpost was as clear and crisp as day. Beautiful even in the dark. And then further out, eyes on the far off horizon and the paths of silver cast by the moons, so far it hurt her eyes to look for long.

Wait . . . no . . . Those were tears. Yuuki wiped them quickly, angrily, before they could become the start of something else. She took two deep breaths, satisfied that she could breathe easy. Then, she started up the steps to the top of the tower and the little covered garden that formed the top floor.

She was a little surprised to find someone already there. Shiune.

Her pale hair turned silver under the moonslight and her thin nightgown hanging from slim shoulders and clinging from narrow hips, the Undine appeared lost in her thoughts. Yuuki controlled the urge to look back over her shoulder. Hadn't she been in the room? She'd been sure she'd checked. Then Shiune noticed her nearly at once, turning aside from examining the roses and desert flowers that were in full blossom and drawing the attention of all sorts of silently flitting night bugs.

"Oh, Yuuki-chan." The Undine smiled in a soft and dignified way. "I didn't think you'd still be awake."

"Couldn't sleep." The Imp said as she leaned herself against the garden's low wooden railing, put there more for the benefit of the humans than any of the Faeries.

Shiune nodded. "It's just the same for me."

"Bad dreams?" Yuuki asked, gentle and teasing of someone who was much older than herself.

Shiune's smile remained just the same. "Why don't you come over here, Yuuki? We can talk until you get tired if you like." Did Shiune have a new hobby? Yuuki wandered over to see for herself what the Undine was so excited about.

"The flowers are beautiful." Shiune said softly, a wistful look in her eyes as she watched the pale white and pink tinged blossoms rustle in the cool evening breeze. "I recognize most of them, but I think a few only existed in ALfheim."

Yuuki leaned down to get a good look for herself. There must have been a half dozen different varieties lined up in the planters, all kept carefully trimmed and pruned so that the rooftop garden would remain a beautiful and relaxing place. And they were lovely in the light, thin petals shining in the dark like little silver lanterns.

The Imp leaned closer, closing her eyes, and inhaled the sweet and faintly perfumed air. All at once, it was like being transported back, to someplace and somewhen else. A tidy little garden on the side of a small house.

She listened to Shiune describing the ones she knew. The Undine's voice was melodious and ever gentle as she cited names and native regions. And then asked what Yuuki thought of them. Yuuki didn't know much about any of those things. Would she have learned in school? She didn't think so. By the time she had been old enough to find out, school had already seemed pointless. Now of course, the lessons she took with Silica were much more interesting, useful things that they needed to know. She still thought Shiune was right though.

"They really are very beautiful." Yuuki answered. "I thought flowers didn't last long in the desert." Especially in the summer, right? Although she had read about the beautiful wildflowers that would grow in some deserts after fresh rains and turn the dusty landscape for a brief time into a carpet of flowers.

"These strains are very hardy." Shiune explained thoughtfully. "But they should have wilted by now yes . . . It's probably only thanks to their caretakers that they've lasted this long . . ."

A melancholy settled over the two Faeries as they both thought about what Shiune had said aloud.

"They're like us." Yuuki said quietly. Without a thought, reaching for one of the vibrant flowers, a cluster of vibrant violet blossoms, each of them no bigger than the nail of her little finger. "Aren't they, Shiune?" She knew it was what Shiune was thinking, because the Undine didn't answer right away.

That was right, wasn't it? These flowers which had survived this long only because of loving hands, even though it was futile to try and save them. She cupped the blossoms, feeling the velvet softness that brushed across the tips of her fingers.

Although nobody would ever dare to say it out loud, for everything that the Transition had taken from them, it had given lots back too. Their Faerie bodies for one. Whether it was being able to really fly and cast magic, or having super speed and strength, or just becoming young and pretty, everyone had benefited in some way that they wouldn't admit out loud.

Though Yuuki was a little more humble than most, she thought anyways. She loved being fast and strong, flying with the wind in her hair and the sun on her skin, and the whole world spread out beneath her. But mostly, she was just grateful for her body being, well . . . well . . .

Yuuki stopped, she inhaled, and she really thought about what she was feeling. The way her chest expanded, and the way the air inflated her lungs, her healthy lungs, that could now breathe on their own without needing to be constantly drained and injected with steroids and antibiotics. The strong, steady beat of her own heart, the bend of her arms and legs, and the fresh air that gently tickled all over. Mostly, it felt like stretching, and cool creeping deep into her chest. Most of all, it just didn't hurt.

It was something that most other people would take for granted, being able to walk outdoors, or really, being able to walk at all. The infections had gotten pretty bad near the end. For a little while she'd plateau, and there would be days where she could lay awake and the pain wasn't quite so unbearable that she needed the drugs.

The sensations had not gotten old, as much as Yuuki had thought they would. It was still all as wonderful and vividly real today as it had been every day before, all the way back through the months to when Konno Yuuki had been reborn in the transition as the Imp Yuuki, free of the illness that had been slowly eating her alive.

At least, that was what she tried to believe. She didn't know if she really did just yet. Every night after baths she'd thoroughly check herself in the mirror from the bottoms of her feet to the top of her head, looking for any signs of a scratch or cut, any indication of an infection that her body wasn't fighting off. So far, she hadn't found anything other than her perfectly healthy self, but that didn't exactly mean anything either.

Her sickness could remain dormant for a very long time before it began to affect her health, and there was no way to be sure the native doctors would be able to detect it. And even if they could, they might be even less able to cure or manage it than the Doctors of her own world. If that were the case, she wasn't going to let what might only be a brief return to health slip past by living in fear. She had to live, to hold onto this with all her might.

And yet, doing so left her with so very many other confused emotions. She was grateful for this life and for every second and every day that she could live like everyone else, experience the same joy as them and the same hardship as them, and know that her life meant the same thing in this world that she could touch and feel and change, if only a very little bit, like every other person.

But even that tiny little bit was more, staggeringly more than she could ever have asked for. And though she should have been happy, and though she was happy, most of the time, Yuuki had known for as long as she could remember that she was going to die one day, probably in a lot of pain, and that it would probably be before she had a chance to do much living. She'd grown to expect so little as first her health and then her sight had been stolen from her.

Days where the drugs didn't leave her in a hazy stupor, and being able to make the people she met in Full Dive laugh and smile, and maybe make them a little happier in the time they adventured together.

Never once, even deep in her heart, had she even dreamed of not being sick. It just wasn't a possibility that existed in her world. And now that she had been so richly blessed, what was she supposed to do with a whole life? A void had opened up all in front of her, so wide and vast that she couldn't see the other side, and she seemed to be told 'Go Anywhere', 'Do Anything'. And most of all, she was scared. So scared.

What if she wasted it? What if she wasn't the one who was supposed to have this chance? Because there was someone else who should have been here, in her place, or at her side.

"Shiune?"

"Yes, Yuuki?"

"Shiune, do you believe in God?" She asked in a small voice. She'd never asked anyone that, not even her doctors.

The Undine's answer was a little surprising, at least, Yuuki though. "I don't know." She shook her head slowly. "I know that you do. Even after everything that has happened I can't say for sure. But I do believe in something." She turned to Yuuki and smiled down at her. "I believe in whatever is inside of you, Yuuki."

Shiune hesitated, reaching back to the flowers. "When my health was declining, but before my physicians changed my chemotherapy, there was a time where I had become too sick to leave the house much, but before I was confined to the hospital." The Undine held one of the rose blossoms tenderly in her hands. "I was told I should find something to do with myself to keep my spirits strong. Something simple and not too strenuous. The body's health can be affected by the state of the mind, I was told. For a time I tried with gardening. At first, seeing the flowers live and grow because of my work was very rewarding, but as my health declined and I could no longer do even that much, I had to watch them wither and die."

Yuuki listened to Shiune, and the astonishing amount of despair that could exist within her gentle, quiet voice. "That's when I realized that when I died, I would leave nothing behind that would survive me, and as the pain got worse and worse, as my condition relapsed, I just couldn't find the strength to keep fighting. Why should I prolong a life that could only contain suffering until the very end?"

"Shiune . . ."

"But then I met you, Yuuki." Shiune looked up into the night sky. "I met you, and other Sleeping Knights. And I discovered how much you have suffered just to live your life. And I was ashamed that as an adult I could not show the strength to endure for these two and half years what you had for almost fifteen." The Undine's head fell, her hair spread like a waterfall. "Like everyone else in the Sleeping Knights, I wanted to bear my pain beside you. It's only because of you Yuuki, that I was here and was reborn into this world. Only because of that strength that I never thought could exist. So if that is God, then . . . yes . . . maybe I do believe in something like God. Yuuki?"

Yuuki's head hung low, her eyes shut. "It's just . . . my Mom . . . when I was little in the hospital, she would hold me tight when it was too much, and she'd tell me how God never made us face more than we can endure. I know that she was in terrible pain, right up until the end, but she would tell that to me and my sister and . . . Shiune . . . Why would God save me and not her?" And then, a dam of tears that had been building inside of her, held at bay by the freedom and joy she had been granted, gave way all at once.

"Yuuki? Oh, Yuuki." The Undine stepped closer to her, placing her arms upon the small Imp's shoulders and hugging her close.

"W-Why . . . Why?" It was suddenly so very hard to breathe. Worse than it had ever been on the hospital machines. "Why Shiune? Why? S-She was . . . so b-brave . . . and st-stayed strong for so long. And if . . . and if . . . just a little longer . . . or a little sooner . . ."

The Undine held her, resting Yuuki's head against her chest, exhaling through her teeth in soft soothing sound. "Shush now, cry all you need to."

A whole life, a whole life, but everyone was gone. Even the one person she most needed by her side. Shiune stroked her hair as Yuuki cried out her grief, emptying herself until she sagged in exhaustion and heartache.

"It'll be okay Yuuki. It will be okay. Oh Yuuki . . . you're going to live."

* * *

"Are you ready, Miss Montmorency?"

Montmorency, Montmorency Margarita La Fere de Montmorency, took the words of Prince Wales Tudor of Albion as less a question, and more an order to begin. She might have taken offense if the young man beside her had been anything less than a Royal, or if she had any less than agreed.

"Of course, your Highness." The young Montmorency daughter replied formally.

This was a task assigned to her by her noble father, the Montmorency Patriarch, and by Queen Henrietta no less; she would aspire to conduct herself as was befitting of a Servant of the Crown and in a way that upheld her family name. Yet at the same time, she felt ill at ease, eager to start, and eager to be done. Good conduct was her talisman, the way by which she vowed not to fail.

"Sir Morison?" Wales nodded to one of the men standing to his side "Sir Thetcher?" The soldiers spread themselves apart without further prompting, stances nonthreatening, but weapons easily in reach if anything were to happen. It was doubtful that there would be danger from the water, but they were alone on the beach, and one could never be too careful. Especially with the Faeries' Lands so very near at hand.

"Seems that our short bit of leave has come to its end, eh Vincent?" One of the Knights chuckled under his breath. "Don't fret much, His Highness had no hope of giving you time enough with both of them."

The second Knight who Montmorency had last seen in the early evening, thoroughly making a fool of himself with those Faerie Harlots, gave a disgusted roll of his eyes but kept his tongue. "That is enough, Sir Morison." The Prince said dryly. "Or did I not spy you stuffing your face with Faerie confections after your watch."

"Sir!"

Faeries, how they made fools of them all. Montmorency rolled her eyes, she was beginning to see her father's side of things when it came to the Fae. Things had become complicated since they had appeared. And things only grew more complicated wherever their attention came to rest. Montmorency could vouch for both sorts of disaster first hand. Good intentions or not, a Faerie establishment right on the shores of Ragdorian lake was almost surely an ill omen.

She grimaced as she pulled at the fabric jacket that was all she wore over the 'disguise' of a single piece bathing suit and khaki shorts. The Prince was so very insistent about keeping a low profile, why, he still had not taken off that stupid Faerie hat. Faeries with their forward notions and t-their revealing garments. Why, Gui- a man might become as familiar with their bodies as their own fiancé's!

Enough of that, the Noble girl shook her head and then reached into her jacket. For all she did not care for most of their designs, the deep pockets of the jacket were something that Montmorency approved of immensely, so very convenient for odd knickknacks. Her hand dug deeper, coming across a pleasantly moisturizing layer of mucus, and then something firm but squishy, the size of a handball, which most cooperatively squirmed into her grip.

Extracting her hand from her pocket, a pair of large and thoughtful brown eyes met her own, his big frog mouth curved up in a smile like he was happy to see her. "Robin," Montmorency smiled for her familiar, "Your master has a favor to ask of you now, if that is alright."

Robin replied by opening his mouth and running his tongue over his upper lips, making little mouth noises that Montmorency chose to interpret as an eager 'Yes Mistress!'. Though he was nothing special as familiars went, she did like to think he was a fine old frog and much smarter than most of his kin.

No point in putting it off any longer. Walking to the shore, Montmorency placed Robin atop the sand, her familiar squirming on the unfamiliar surface as she next extracted a letter knife from her pocket and placed its tip to her index finger. A slight press, a Water Mage knew well the frailty of flesh, that was all that was needed to prick the skin and draw up a single droplet of her blood.

Kneeling down, Montmorency touched the drop to her familiar's head. "Now, you know what to do." She could only hope. On every other occasion the familiars had returned safely, so chances were that the her own Robin would be in no more danger. At the very least, the Water Spirit was still extending its protection.

The frog smacked his lips again and quickly hopped his way out into the water, vanishing into the dark with barely a ripple.

"This shouldn't take long." Montmorency informed the Prince and his guards, but mostly it was for the benefit of herself. There would be no harm in being seen of course. But the family wanted this handled discreetly and without it becoming common knowledge.

That was why the Prince was here, on behalf of Queen Henrietta. He had been empowered by the Queen to act on her behalf and could make vows that Montmorency herself could not. He was also, in all practical regards, totally trustworthy, which made him ideal.

"And if this does not work?" Wales asked her. "What is our next course of action?"

The Montmorency daughter chewed her lip. "Then . . . Tomorrow we shall need to find a way out towards the center of the lake. There is an island there, nearer to the Water Spirit's den."

"That will be the heart of the Spirit's domain. Better to travel there by air." Sir Vincent observed quietly. "And we may want to make use of the Queen's suggestion and ask Sir Kirito and Dame Asuna to accompany us."

"I see no harm in using the dragons. But I would much rather not take our friends from their celebration." The Prince said with an amused smile. "I confess I am also a little afraid to incur Dame Asuna's wrath. She can be most fearsome when the mood takes her."

"Aye, there is that, Sir." Sir Morison granted with a nod. "I assume Miss Argo will be of use then? She reports that the 'Nyriads' have been using the islands as their havens." The man never took his eyes from the surface of the lake and its deceptive stillness.

Her family's fate had been tied to this lake, for good or ill, down through the generations, their relationship with the Water Spirit and its kin permitting their fortunes to grow unimaginably. And that wealth and power had begot pride and arrogance and become the seed of their fall from grace. All it had taken was to slight the Water Spirits.

'The waters change but the lake stays the same.' Montmorency thought.

Except those words were no longer true. Ragdorian lake had changed with the arrival of the Faeries and their strange beasts and territories. Now, nothing was certain, least of all the fate of her family.

'If we lose this . . . ' It might not be possible for the Montmorency line to ever fully recover.

They were left to wonder in silence for what could only have been minutes, but which surely felt like hours of uncertainty. At last, there was a splash at the bank, the noise of a small, meaty body slapping across the sand, and a small croak at her feet.

Montmorency closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath as she reached down to accept her familiar into her hands and then lifted him up close to her chest. It wasn't his fault. She had sent her emissary, just like Mother, Father, and all of her sisters.

The Spirit had not answered.


	3. Chapter 3

Halkegenia Online - Beach Episode - Chapter 3

Kirigaya Kazuto, the Knight Kirito, let out a long and low sigh as he closed his eyes and leaned back in a surprisingly comfy chair. So comfy in fact that he wondered if maybe he couldn't just stay leaned back like this and . . .

"Kirito-kun? You know, you didn't have to come to Gaddan with us, you could have slept in a while if you'd liked."

The Spriggan raised his hand, waving vaguely without opening his eyes. "I sleep in and nap every chance I get. Vacations are supposed to be for more than just that," he sighed again, nice as it had felt to relax in the shade by the lagoon with a cold bottle in his hand. "I'd feel pretty lousy if I wasted this opportunity."

"So you're saying it's not a problem?"

He could hear the amusement in Asuna's voice. The Spriggan cracked open an eye to view the smiling Maeve girl on the far side of the café table and for a second Kirito felt the urge to check the rest of the room and be sure she wasn't getting heckled with stares by any of the other customers. Asuna, even among Faeries, couldn't help but stand out. At least, that was what Kirito thought.

His wife was dressed in her best summer casual clothing, lightweight dress, protective shawl, and summer sandals, and it all simply complimented her own beauty. Like most people in the pre-industrial world of Halkegenia, neither of them owned very many changes of clothes, but what they did have was all well made. And with her fashion sense, Asuna had made every garment count for both herself and Yui.

Kirito, on the other hand, while taking his wife's advice on fashion to heart, hadn't been so bold as to leave his comfort zone behind. His own casual summer clothes were comparatively well made, but consisted of simple black slacks and dark short sleeve shirt with white ornamental design. The summer heat outside had inevitably led to him unbuttoning his collar, and though he liked to think he didn't look _too_ wilted, he didn't really stack up to the girl he was with either.

Not for the first time, Aincrad's Black Swordsman was left wondering what exactly Asuna the Flash had ever seen in a guy like him that she'd stuck around long enough to fall in love. No matter what the answer was, he was grateful.

There weren't any gawkers, at least for now. The little restaurant they had found to take shelter from the heat was presently in a lull between the morning and lunch rush. Most of the tables were empty, with only a few customers sipping at ice tea or eating a late breakfast in peace. One of the waitresses dedicated herself to serving the few customers, while the other bussed the tables and got the dining room ready for the lunch hour.

"If it makes the trip more memorable then it's okay." Kirito answered while trying not to yawn. "Besides, I'd rather make memories with you and Yui. If I really feel like it, I can always hit the sack early tonight." Those futon at the resort sure felt good, especially laying on them in the cross breeze through the windows.

"I just want to know one thing." The Spriggan crossed his arms, and his tiredness from just this morning shone through. "Where is she getting all of that energy?" Because Yui couldn't possibly be powering herself off of just the food she ate and the sleep she got and still be so alive all of the time. She must have still been receiving some sort of special waves from Cardinal. It was the only explanation.

His cheater Spriggan body could keep pace with his daughter step for step without an ounce of strain, but it was less the physical exertion and more the mental fatigue of keeping up with someone so excited by_everything_ she saw.

"I think it's just called being a child." Asuna said as she tilted her head to regard the passersby outside the café window. "And having the exuberance of a child. She wants to see and do everything all at once. Don't you remember being that unjaded?"

"Maybe." Kirito rubbed sleepily at his eyes and then put his hands on his knees. "But it feels like a lifetime since I got jaded." A really _long_ lifetime ago. "What about you?"

Asuna folded her hands neatly in her lap and looked back to him, the pedestrians outside went on with their business none the wiser. "Sometimes, at least a little bit. I certainly wasn't quite as adventurous as Yui-chan is turning out to be. I hope it was okay to leave her with Leafa for a little while."

"She wanted to go explore with her friends." That was what normal kids that age did, wasn't it? Although Yui was nowhere _near_ normal, Kirito knew that he and Asuna were of the same mind with wanting their adopted daughter to have the closest thing to a normal, happy childhood that was possible. "Besides, Sugu seemed pretty insistent that we take it easy for a while." Almost overly insistent, and as soon as her Aunt had started to suggest such things, Yui had followed along as well. "And Sergeant Carmond is with them, he knows Gaddan like the back of his hand, so I don't think we have anything to worry about."

It looked like it had been enough to satisfy the Maeve in front of him. Asuna nodded and then looked up as a waitress approached their isolated corner seat, an array of plates balanced on her arms.

"Thank you for waiting, Sir and Miss." The dainty, red haired serving girl announced as she arrived at the side of the table. "Your tea and baklava." She announced, skilfully transferring the plates from the crooks of her arms, into her hands, and then down onto the table between the Faerie couple. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"That's all for now." Asuna said. "It looks wonderful."

"Of course." The girl bowed courteously. "Please take your time and enjoy, if you would like anything else, let me know."

Kirito followed the girl with his eyes as she departed at an unhurried pace to seat another customer just arrived through the front door. She was a pretty and impeccably polite girl, but that wasn't what had grabbed his attention.

"Asuna, did you notice?"

The Maeve looked up from the small, flaky, and wonderfully sweet and buttery scented dessert she had been carefully bisecting with her fork and glanced over her shoulder. "Un." She nodded once, it wasn't hard to see, the girl wasn't hiding them, her rounded ears.

As developments went it wasn't a very surprising one, Kirito thought. Although it had gone without much overt attention in the papers, especially in the wake of Lady Morigana and General Eugene's wedding, it was common knowledge by now that the so called 'Faerie Settlements' were playing host to a growing number of native Tristanians.

Some were merchants and trade guild representatives who wanted to try and profit on the new developments they had been hearing about. Many were commoners and mages that had been displaced by the Transition and looked to the Faerie cites to provide for themselves and their families. Others had been drawn by the spreading word of benevolent rule by the 'Faerie Nobility' or the promise of work in the new workshops and factories that were being founded by ambitious entrepreneurs leveraging their IRL and implanted ALfheim knowledge to start a staggering variety of businesses.

Whatever the reason, the Faerie cities, left half empty by the disappearance of the NPCs, had started to fill up again to meet the demand for labor. This was less apparent around Arrun with its population of nearly twenty thousand, but the faction capitals which where home to only four to six thousand Fae each had experienced a considerable influx. Goubniu was the largest so far with almost six thousand Leprechauns and Gnomes working side by side with ten thousand commoners and mages day in and day out to start the «Industrial Revolution» promised by the Faerie Lords and the TRIST engineering staff.

Bolstered by investments in the new steel plants and machine shops, the Goubniu City Council and Lord Rute were already making plans to add outward from the city's «Forge» district. The new «Foreman's» and «Arsenal» districts would house the expanding workforce and the factories sponsored by Queen Henrietta to support the war effort.

Civil Engineers and Civic Designers from Arrun were being consulted to organize the expansion so that the new portions of the city would be well planned and enjoy many of the luxuries of the current buildings such as wide ore-lit streets and central drainage, even if the breakneck new construction wouldn't be quite as refined as the districts created by the Transition.

Compared to the Leprechaun City, Gaddan's population of five thousand Faeries and the same number of humans seemed much more modest. Yet it was the same number of people as Kayaba Akihiko had trapped in Aincrad, Kirito had to remind himself, and yet the total numbers of any of the Faerie cities was tiny compared to Tristania with its population of one hundred thousand. It all gave a really weird sense of scale.

"Asuna?" Kirito noticed that his wife had not looked away from the girl immediately.

"It's nothing." She turned back to her food. "I just think . . . she might be dying her hair."

"Huh?" Kirito looked up again. How could she tell?

"I noticed it earlier when we were on the streets." Asuna said under her breath, taking a bite of her baklava and chewing thoughtfully before she went on. Kirito settled in his chair, his dessert and drink forgotten as he was confronted by the old «Vice Commander» of the Knights of Blood and the present second in command of the Yggdrasil Knights. "Red isn't a very common natural hair color in Tristain, but lots of the people on the street have red hair, more than just the Salamanders."

Which meant what exactly? Maybe she liked having red hair, or thought the customers would like it. Kirito wondered until Asuna looked up. Her good mood seemed to have been slightly diminished, like she was thinking of something unpleasant.

"Suguha mentioned it to me while we were talking a few days ago, but there have been reports of heckling going on in Arrun." The Maeve's graceful features were creased with a frown. "A few Faerie troublemakers harassing some of the commoners who are living and working in the City. Nothing significant so far, but the Watch thinks it's being under reported."

"Hold on," Kirito was careful to keep his voice low, "You mean, someone is actually harassing people over something like that?" Unbelievable. Except, Kirito knew it was possible to be that petty. It was how groups like the thieves and murderers guilds had gotten started in Aincrad.

Asuna took a sip of her ice tea, watching the ice cubes shift and settle. "I think most people would never dream of acting like that. And the ones that do . . . There's a lot of different reasons for it, I think. It upsets some of them because they feel like their homes are being intruded on by outsiders just as they finally have someplace to _call_ home again. And others are probably responding to being harassed by some of the Nobility."

Kirito nodded slowly, suddenly his own dessert didn't look so appetizing. He could understand feeling swept away by change and being overcome by the fear that the places that were supposed to be 'theirs' would become alien too. And Asuna was right that not every noble in Tristain was their friend, many weren't even_friendly_ unless they wanted something. It would be easy for people to grow resentful like that and take their anger out on any easy target. People were like that in this world too.

"The commoners don't have it easy, you know." Asuna shrugged her shoulders helplessly. "They're so used to the worst of the Nobility that they try to avoid trouble even if they've been badly wronged. So if you were going to avoid trouble in someplace where everyone who belongs has red hair, Kirito-kun, what would you do?"

"Dye my hair red." Kirito reasoned. It wasn't really how he would deal with the situation, but it was an easy enough jump to make. Try and fit in, or at least try to camouflage himself. "But that's just messed up. Mortimer wouldn't stand for this, would he?" Kirito only knew the Salamander Lord as an authority figure, but he was a nicer guy underneath than he'd ever show in public. And Sakuya would never let him hear the end of it if people were being attacked in his city. Except . . . "I guess he can't change how people feel by force." Kirito cursed under his breath. "Damn it."

"But it isn't all bad either." A little brightness returned to Asuna's voice. "I noticed something else too. Isn't it strange how many Salamanders wear headbands or hairpieces? It doesn't seem like something you'd expect of a militant faction, right?"

The Spriggan put his hands back down. "Well no, but they're also people trying to live their lives." Some of their real world fashion tastes were probably expressing themselves. The same way Sylphs didn't always have to dress in green or Spriggans didn't always have to wear black.

"There's that too I suppose." Asuna had managed by now to quite delicately eat away over half of her baklava with barely a morsel left on her cheeks. Taking her napkin, she delicately wiped away the few crumbs. "But also, combined with all of the red dyed hair, it's a message of solidarity. Lots of people are wearing their hair pieces and headbands in a way that hides their ears, so what they're really saying is that if people want to bully the commoners just for not being Faeries, they're going to have to check everyone to find out who is who."

"And checking everyone on the street would get the attention of the City Watch." Kirito thought out loud. That was a pretty cool way for the people of Gaddan to defend their neighbors, and without even raising a hand or a sword in anger.

Asuna nodded in agreement. "So even though it's a little discouraging that people can't behave themselves, I guess I'm also a little proud that people can do the right thing so easily too."

The two Faeries finished their treats in comfortable near silence, savoring the cooking of a local chef and the simple pleasure of having no dishes and no worries when they were done. When the plates were taken, Kirito remembered to leave an extra coin on top of the tip.

Stepping back out from the cool shade of the restaurant into Gaddan's beating sun, Kirito was reminded why they had retreated to the café in the first place. To put it mildly, Gaddan was hot as _hell_. No wonder Miss Shiune had declined to come with them today, opting instead to go with Klein, Yuuki, and Silica to explore along the coast and islands.

Tristain itself was already experiencing a scorching summer, the conditions of the «Desert Zone» didn't help that at all as today's winds blew from the North, over the miles of baking sand that had been created by Gaddan's arrival.

The «Desert Zone» was one of those exceptions that proved the rule of the Transition that had taken hold over Tristain while making the lands of ALfheim real. Where other regions had appeared in a patchwork nature, mostly replacing forests with forests and plains with plains and so on, rarely touching towns, roads, or tended fields which seemed to possess some sort of «Protected» status, the «Desert Zone» had appeared in a region of failed land reclamation that was relatively sparsely settled and lightly developed, and therefore large contiguous regions of rocky outcrops and sand dunes had felt free to appear across Southern Tristain, wiping out much of the livelihood of the people who had eked out an existence hunting and harvesting in those wetlands.

And the Noble family which had been most wronged by the appearance of that desert would happen to be, Kirito's thoughts stopped. Of course, the Montmorency family. He thought he remembered Guiche telling 'Midori' how the family had been forced to surrender their profitable holdings elsewhere in Tristain in exchange for the lands ruined by their poor handling of matters with the Water Spirits. So when disaster had struck, the Montmorency clan had been left the worst off with only a few regions of reclaimed land and a whole lot of desert to their name. No wonder Monmon always seemed to be in such an irritated mood.

"Kirito-kun?" Asuna took one look at his disheveled expression and became worried.

"It's nothing." He sighed. "Just thinking about someone who has a lot of good reasons to dislike us."

"Oh?" Asuna pulled her shawl a little closer as they walked beneath the shade of Gaddan's countless awnings, erected to protect pedestrians from the scorching sun.

«The Fortress of the South» definitely lived up to its name. Where other faction cities like Sylvain and Cadenza were allowed to sprawl outward with only a few low walls for protection, Gaddan was built like a city that was expected to come under siege again and again. The Fortress was situated on a low plateau with heavy fortifications circling its perimeter in a defensive line three layers deep. From the air, the layout looked like a dense packed diamond capped at each corner by a spear like defensive position and loomed over by the monolithic stone 'Citadel' of Gaddan Tower at the heart of the city.

As expected of the «Martial» faction, architecture was kept simple, sturdy, and stark. Most of the decoration was comprised of stone statues of Salamander Warriors or mythic beasts and wall carvings depicting epic battles. Occasionally, public buildings were given more elaborate ornamentation such as sandstone pillars, detailed stone reliefs, or even hardy plants and scrub trees to provide a precious little bit of green in the sea of bleached whites, stark tans, and vivid reds.

The game developers had taken inspiration from the desert cities of the Egyptians and Persians with some inspiration also coming from the Roman Empire. Buildings were generally low and squat, with thick stone and brick walls and many small, recessed windows as good at keeping out enemies as the sun's heat. Most structures were capped either by thin towers to induce air circulation by convection or else had wind catchers for ventilation and whole city blocks seemed to be built to the same height to maximize the shade that each one provided to its neighbors.

The gaps between the buildings were narrow, but beneath the rooftops, the streets widened into open, arched galleries and surprisingly cool arcades that sheltered beneath the overhanging structures. Water was life in a city like this, and also a sign of affluence and prosperity. Where it was used, it was used sparingly. Fountains were placed in shaded courtyards to help cool by evaporation, and lush vegetation could only be found indoors, beneath the sheltered roofs of the more luxurious arcades, and one other location in the city's Southern quarter.

"I just wonder if it would be possible to reclaim the «Desert Zone»." Kirito pondered out loud.

The Transition hadn't wiped out everything in the region, between some of the towns and villages still eking out an existence around desert oasis, and the occasional patches of hardy scrub grass clinging to the dunes and holding the sands in place, maybe it was possible to restore the countryside again, just like the Montmorency family had intended to begin with. Although, Kirito admitted, they'd almost certainly never imagined doing it like this.

"Maybe." Asuna answered with a tilt of her head. "But it would be a huge undertaking, wouldn't it? I don't know if it would be possible any time soon."

"Plenty of places have irrigated deserts and turned them into farmland." The Spriggan pointed out with a feeling of confidence. "Lots of them did it without magic or even modern technology, and Tristain has plenty of water everywhere else. So it's doable."

"I don't think that's quite right." The Maeve looked up through the overhead gap to the narrow slit of intensely clear blue sky. "Desert sands don't contain very many nutrients that plants need to grow. Usually those desert farmlands have to be developed with fertilizers or silt washed in by the same rivers that irrigate them.

"Un." Kirito shook his head, Asuna was probably right on this one, he should have known better than to even think it could ever be that easy. "There's magic too, you know, that could make a difference."

"I guess you could use Earth Mages to help restore the ground," Asuna agreed, "But General Gramont told me it's harder with unprepared earth since more changes have to be made, and you would probably have to plant right away so that the plants can grow roots to hold the new top soil in place. I don't know, it seems like it would take a long time and a lot of work. And the mobs might fight it."

"Huh?" That was the first Kirito had heard of anything like that.

"Un. I was talking to Argo about it. She knows some people studying the «Desert Zone». They think that there's a real ecology at work now maintaining the desert. Mobs like the «Sand Sharks» and «Sand Trout» don't just live in the sands and eat surface plankton, they also support the sand sea they swim in." Asuna gestured to the paved ground at their feet. "They've been observed rubbing themselves against any rocky formations that they come across and trying to erode them down into the sand. The researchers did an experiment with some large boulders they placed in the «Sand Trout Lake» and they didn't even last one week."

"Seriously?" The Spriggan gave the hard ground an equally hard look. Although he knew better by now, he'd never quite given up his outlook on Mobs being things that only really existed in the context of people. He knew that they were real animals, some were even people worthy of respect in their own right. It just hadn't really sunk in that as real animals now, they'd try to shape their environment to their benefit. Suddenly, the solid earth didn't seem so solid.

"Un" Asuna nodded sagely. "Gaddan and the other outcroppings are protected by something that repels them, and they don't seem to want to go past the edge of the desert, but they would probably try to do the same to anything built on the surface of the sands. Some of them also eat the roots of any grass or other plants that manage to sprout in the sand, so even if the land can be changed back and made fertile, it sounds like it could be pretty be hard to keep it that way. And then there's supposed to be a gigantic field boss called, well, I can't remember how it's pronounced actually," Asuna blushed as she gave an apology, "But his epithet was «The Old Man of the Desert». He's supposed to be a protector of the «Desert Zone»."

"Old Man of the Desert?" Kirito's frown deepened. It didn't sound like the kind of title the devs would give to a pushover dungeon boss, that was for sure. But something about it definitely nagged at the swordsman. It was probably something Klein had said he decided.

"Nobody has ever seen him." Asuna admitted with a small blush, like she was relaying an old urban legend. "So people think that if he actually exists, he might be lying dormant like some of the other legendary bosses. Trying to change the desert would almost definitely wake him up, wouldn't it? He's supposed to have the power to create the «Desert Zone» in the first place, so I think most people want to try not to annoy him for now."

"Yeah, the whole thing is starting to sound like a huge uphill battle." Kirito agreed, stretching his arms behind his back, definitely the kind of fight they would have passed on if they could in Aincrad and only maybe come back to after they were in a better position to win.

Gaddan's streets might have been narrow and winding, but there was a method to the madness and the Faerie couple only had to stop a few times for directions before they found their way out into a widening city square in the southern quarter. From its edge, it looked like a wide open parade ground, flanked on all sides by stone pillared 'Government' buildings, 'armories', and 'barracks' and dominated by a single huge statue rising almost three stories tall.

When Kirito got a good look at it, he understood why Eugene had been less than eager to give them directions to this place, and why Morgiana had been gleefully ribbing him the entire time.

The «Plaza of Heroes» and its «Monument» which served as the entrance of the «Hanging Garden» had been a feature of Gaddan meant to encourage the Warrior Race mythos of the Salamanders by honoring the player with the highest «PK Count» each month. In other words, the Faction MVP. It just so happened that when the Transition occurred, the Salamander's highest PK player was, as it had been for the six prior months, General Eugene.

Also, the GMs must have taken some liberties in how they had posed the Salamander Champion, because he had been immortalized with his upper body stripped bare, holding the demonic sword «Gram» pointing North towards the World Tree and ultimate conquest, every muscle of his impressive torso tensed in proud bronze display.

It would have seemed slightly tacky in a game like ALO, now real, the statue was almost embarrassing to look at.

"Eugene said he wanted to have it torn down." Asuna murmured in Kirito's ears. Both Faeries looked on with open bemusement. "But the Salamanders seem to actually like it, so his brother won't let him."

Well of course, they were proud of their General, but still . . . Kirito felt a moment of sympathy for the Faerie Knight Commander, and made a mental note never to mention this to his face. Even thinking about it around the statue was almost too much, it was like the eyes were following them with that constant patriarchal frown.

At least they didn't have to spend long beneath the monument's withering glare, their destination was on the far side of the square, past an army of lesser statues and high stone walls depicting a vicious battle between Salamander Warriors and an army of what looked like Undines rising from the sea to face them. Getting closer, Kirito felt his skin begin to prickle in the unusually _cool_ breeze that emerged from beneath the blue stained victory archway that formed the southern exit to the square.

As the arch passed overhead, the rough stone façade was gradually replaced by glossy blue tile, and the cool breeze was joined by the sound of running water. When they emerged into the sunlight once again, it was under the diffuse shade of desert palm trees. As cliché as it was, like _magic_ they had been transported from harsh Gaddan into a verdant garden paradise alive with sweet smelling flowers, vibrant greens, and the cries of exotic birds that made their homes all around.

Kirito heard Asuna inhale a breath of wonder beside him. He couldn't savor it for long, he was too busy being amazed himself. This was where they were supposed to meet back up with everyone else, beneath the semi retracted dome overlooking the sunken oasis, the «Gaddan Hanging Garden».

Actually, it had originally been called the «Orlein Conquest Garden» before the Transition, but since that name was in bad taste in this real world, and because the title had never been inscribed anyplace on the monument itself, most people had decided to just call it by its new name.

The Garden, almost a quarter of a kilometer in diameter, and taking up the entire southern corner of the city's southern quarter, had been an achievement awarded to the Salamanders for being the first to defeat another faction and subjugate their Capital. The Undines had decided to pick a fight with the newly elected Lord Mortimer and had paid dearly for underestimating him.

Mortimer, who had already gained a reputation as an able strategist for coordinating raids under the previous Lord, had soundly outmaneuvered the Undine strike force while General Eugene had hunted down and expertly eliminated the presiding Undine Lord who had joined the raid party as a show of contempt.

A week later, the Garden had appeared in Southern Gaddan, and since that time, it had been joined in the other quarters of the city by monuments celebrating the victory of the Salamanders over other factions.

The «Tau Tona Conquest Monument» or the «House of the Phoenix» a faceted ruby dome that would catch the last rays of the sun every day and transform the evening sky into a fiery light show that would continue to reflect off the thousands of ore-lights within the dome's interior until morning.

The «The Goubniu Conquest Monument» or «Fluted Clock» that would sound the time with a bank of mechanically shuttered wind flutes to play beautiful music, a unique song for each hour.

The «The Cadenza Conquest Monument» or «Harlequinade House» an elaborate open air theater that could play host to over two thousand guests and where shows and musical performances were carried out every night, originally by the NPCs, but now by real Puca and Halkegenian minstrels and acting troupes.

And lastly, the «The Colosseum», a structure that suspiciously resembled the site of Kirito's first fateful dual against Heathcliff, awarded for four consecutive victories against the other factions, where Salamander Warriors could challenge one another to «Honor Duels».

Among the other Faerie Cities, only Sylvain, Freelia, and Domeeska had conquest monuments of their own, and only Domeeska had more than one. Just one more way the developers had tried to encourage ALO's competitive dynamic. Or maybe it had just been another way for Sugou to lord over the 'ants' scurrying beneath his feet. And just like that, Kirito felt a certain inarticulate rage boiling up beneath his otherwise good mood.

Kirito shook his head firmly. He wouldn't think about it like that. A lot of love had gone into the creation of ALfheim by a lot of different people, in some ways the game world might have even been further realized than Kayaba Akihiko's Aincrad. The hopes and dreams of the development staff couldn't just be tarnished because of what one person had done with their love and hard work.

And so, wrapping his arm lightly around his wife's waist, and feeling Asuna lean her head against his shoulder, the Spriggan youth decided he wasn't going to let that thought bother him as they made their way out over the glass and stone sky bridge that looked down on the beautifully terraced gardens with their countless fountains and waterfalls, all pouring and gathering on their way to the garden's most impressive attraction.

"Mama! Papa!" The cry of a high voice from beneath the sea of treetops drew the attention of the Faerie couple, and their eyes, to look down on a shady area of the gardens where their daughter was waving eagerly for them to join her.

There were paths that lead from the far end of the sky bridge down through the tiers to the lower garden, but those was a bit out of the way. Kirito extended his wings with a faint hum, took one step and lighted atop the bridge railing, extending his hand to the Maeve beside him. Placing her hand in his own, Asuna hiked her skirt and completed the delicate hop before both stepped off from the bridge and drifted gently to the ground.

"There you are Yui-chan!" Asuna smiled as she accepted a hug from her daughter. "Did you get to see everything Carmond-san told us about?"

The little Maeve girl nodded eagerly and began to describe all the things she'd seen in the mere two hours since they'd parted ways, talking her mother's ear off as she pulled Asuna towards a pleasant patch of springy grass that felt as soft as lavender. Nearby, Suguha was reclined in the shade, her green summer top and khaki shorts clinging to her like wilted leaves and an ice bottle pressed to her forehead. Apparently, Kirito noted, Sylphs weren't much better than Undines in this heat. The Sylph was flushed from the tips of her ears all the way down past her breastbone, and she didn't even bother to sit up as Kirito took a place beside her.

"Hey Sis, are you alright?"

"Nii-chan." Leafa smiled tiredly. "I know I said I love watching after Yui-chan, but how about you and Asuna play with her for a while?"

"What about her little friends?" Kirito asked as he picked up a discarded fan and set to work cooling his sister. The Sylph sighed in relief and pointed wordlessly to another pair of Sylphs resting propped against another tree, sharing a hand fan to cool off while their Salamander uncle hovered over them like a worried hen.

"Agil and Eda went a little further down towards the stream." Leafa explained, finally taking a long swig from her water bottle. "I guess those two wanted to go someplace a little more private."

Probably catching up on their personal time, Kirito decided. Eda might have liked her husband's new business ambition, but she wasn't so crazy about how it took him away from home. After working hard for two years so that he would have a life to return to, she had every right to be selfish about such things.

He'd heard from Morgiana that the «Tandem Stream» was pretty romantic, especially if you visited at night, or traveled into the dark cavern beneath Gaddan. All of the crushed Ore-Light fragments made for a fantastic light display refracting off the water. Well, that was none of his business. But he hoped they weren't going to turn the streams into their own secluded spot.

"Well then," Sergeant Carmond asked as he stood and stretched, "shall we go? It's a bit of a hike back into the caverns, but it's cool from the spring water all the way, and you almost have to start with the «Gusher» to really appreciate it."

"If you say so." Kirito nodded to their native guide. It had only seemed right to trust the Salamander tank to show them his home city, and surprisingly, Sergeant Carmond had turned out to be amazingly knowledgeable on the Game World of ALO.

"You think?" The big man had chuckled when Kirito asked. "Well, not really so much. But when it hurts to even walk, you start to appreciate Full Dive in a different way." He explained as he led them off towards the caverns.

"Oh?" Kirito waited politely for the Sergeant to continue.

"Damned sciatica was the worst thing that ever happened to me. Pinched the nerve so that the doctor's didn't want to operate on it. I tried toughing it out on the drugs, but the medication didn't really leave me fit for duty. Not on the dosages I was being prescribed." A frown creased Carmond's face, and he reached up to rub at his nose. "Lucky me that I was able to get by once I was discharged. But I don't know, I actually liked being in the JSDF, I wasn't doing much with my life before that, and I probably wouldn't have been doing much with it after if it weren't for, well . . ."

Carmond nodded to the boy and girl clustered with Yui. The Sylph boy was leading the way, of course, moving with a sure footed grace that Kirito had only started to see in his sister after hard years of Kendo practice. Yui was right behind him, a little less steady from inexperience and from the weight of the beautiful little Sylph girl clinging to her shoulder.

"U-Uncle . . . Are you sure there aren't any weird monsters in there?"

"It's fine Kazu." Carmond chuckled. "This isn't a dangerous place. The only mobs down here are friendly. They won't do more than sniff around. Still be careful though, the cave centipedes might try to munch on your clothes."

"Waah?!"

"Don't worry Ban-chan!" Yui laughed as she grabbed her friend by the hand and pulled her along. "We'll be fine if we stick together. I've got really good hearing, so nothing is going to sneak up on me."

And if it did, Kirito reminded himself, his «Assassin's Blade» was presently folded up and clipped to his belt, a comforting weight at his side. It might not have been up to the heavy action of his «Dual Deciders», but like their Salamander guide had said, he probably wouldn't need it anyways. It was only force of habit that he carried it now.

Carmond's smile faded as his niece and nephew hurried ahead. He called after them to stay close before allowing his features to settle in a frown. "This is a bit of a strange question to ask now. Ma'am, Sir." Kirito perked up at the way the Salamander had retreated to formality. "You don't think ill of me, for getting them caught up in all of this, do you?"

"Carmond-san?" Asuna lowered her voice, a note of sympathy immediately taking hold. "Of course not. Don't ever think something like that. The Transition wasn't something that you had anything to do with . . ." The Maeve fell silent as both she and Kirito wondered the same thing. Just what would be done with the person who _had_ been responsible? If it ever came to light, not everyone would be able to be rational, some might never be able to forgive Louise Vallière. That was, if they ever found her.

"I know _that_ but . . ." He scratched at the back of his head. "First I got Ueda wrapped up in my hobby, then Kazu joined us. Neither of them should be here, and I feel lousy that they do. But . . . I'm sort of grateful to, you know? It's such a horrible thing to think, but waking up, knowing that they need me has really kept me on track."

"There's no shame in that." Kirito answered honestly. "Just because you can see the good in a bad situation doesn't make you a bad person, I think."

"So I suppose you'd be pretty lonely without them." Asuna noticed thoughtfully. "You played Full Dive a lot because of your back, but you never met anyone?"

"Like a girl?" Carmond laughed out loud. "I thought about meeting up with some people a few times, but it never really worked out. I was hanging out with some friends from a hunter's guild before the Transition, I knew some of them IRL, but I definitely didn't have anyone I'd consider a girlfriend." Chuckling, he added, "No Ma'am, for now Kazu's the only woman in my life." He waved ahead to the children waiting for them at the mouth of the caverns.

The City of Gaddan was itself located on the squat «Gaddan Plateau» a formation of porous stone that formed the foundations of the Fortress City and provided a honeycomb of sewers, hidden dungeon entrances, and subterranean zones. The regions of the cavern network connecting to the «Hanging Gardens» were safe, but traveling far enough through the gated off tunnels would eventually lead deep underground into the depths of the «Sand Sea» and the underground dungeons hosting treasures guarded by powerful «Elementals» and «Ancient Dragon» type bosses.

Entering the shadows of the natural cavern, the first thing Kirito noticed as his eyes adjusted to the dark, was that the stream that flowed deep and fast though the middle of the cavern had begun to glitter with a million million tiny star lights. Then he realized that it wasn't the river that was glimmering, at least, it wasn't the _water_ river.

"Look Ban-chan!" Yui pointed excitedly.

"Yui-chan, stay back from the edge!" Asuna warned and Suguha clamped her hands on the little Maeve girl's shoulders before she could get too close.

It took a moment for Kirito to see for himself, but the clear spring-water stream that flowed on the surface was joined by another, deeper flow moving slowly underneath. A flowing stream of _sand_ that formed the ever moving stream bed of the more mundane waterway on top.

The glittering originated in that second stream, fragments of alchemic stones similar to the ones used to create ore-lights, like a galaxy of stars carried along by the sand. It wasn't for Kirito to say anything at all as Asuna, Suguha, and Yui all admired openly.

"See, Ban-chan?" Yui pointed to the water.

"Wah . . . It's pretty?!" The other little girl agreed.

But not nearly as pretty as what came as they traveled further into the winding caverns. Kirito could have easily lost his way without a map, but Sergeant Carmond never seemed anything less that perfectly certain of where they were and where they were headed. This was his town and he knew it like the back of his hand.

The «Tandem Stream» that fed into the «Hanging Garden» was fed from many lesser sources that emerged from all over the extensive network of caverns to make their way downstream to the whirlpool at the center of the «Hanging Garden». The water would flow on to drain out through Gaddan's Southern Gate, but the sands would sink and be swallowed up. Whether they flowed elsewhere underground or were recycled back through the cavern system, nobody could really say for sure, and that was exactly what made them so mysterious and interesting to the casual visitors.

Quite a few people as a matter of fact, who came to see Gaddan's natural wonder for themselves, some sitting along the stream's edge while others traveled even deeper to the source. The Spriggan heard it before he saw it, Suguha also seemed to perk right up, maybe detecting a change in the air currents. By the time it came into view, Kirito's eyes had fully adjusted to the dark and he could really appreciate what he was seeing.

The river on its own had been beautiful, the source, or «Gusher» as Carmond had called it, was absolutely spectacular. Sitting at the center of its own domed chamber and rising up several stories high from a stone formation like a natural fountain, the stream of fine sand erupted like a geyser into the path of the arriving spring-water, mixing as it split and flowed down hundreds of glittering channels.

By the time it reached the stream bed among the hundreds of tiny waterfalls, the fine sands had somehow already begun to settle into their own flow beneath the faster surface of the running water.

"This is incredible!" Asuna looked on in wonder, almost too distracted to watch her step "Ah . . . Oh . . . Thank you Kirito-kun."

"You alright?" Kirito was right there to help his wife catch her balance, not that she had needed the help, she would have definitely caught herself. Not like Yui.

"Wah Oof . . . ah!" The little Maeve girl looked up at the boy who had broken her stumble before Suguha could even reach out an arm to catch her. "Oh, thank you Bardiche-san."

"Clumsy." The boy muttered as he let Yui go. "Try to be more careful next time."

"U-Un." Yui nodded, taking the boys words to heart as she kept her eyes on where she was going, at least until she spotted the first licks of flame dancing around the pools of water and the glittering natural fountains. "Wah! Mama, Ban-chan, look at that!"

And then Asuna was off as well, both girls filled up with excitement by the magical show taking place right before their eyes. Flames, and water spurts, and little bursts of sand hopping from the water like they were alive. The whole cavern seemed to be putting on a show for the visitors scattered around inside. And of course, everyone was fully engaged, everyone except Kirito himself, and . . .

"What?" The Black Swordsman noticed the boy staring at him. His name was Bardiche, right? Trust a boy who had named himself after a halberd to look serious and hawkish.

"Nothing." The boy turned his head away and walked off after his sister.

Kirito frowned, he'd been trying to be friendly, but that kid just seemed standoffish. Was that really the sort of scruffy, suspicious looking person that Yui hung out with? Or was it just his cute little sister she was friends with? He'd have to remember to ask Suguha, maybe he didn't understand, or maybe Yui hadn't been completely clear. Well, it was probably okay. Friends or not, Carmond was a good guy, he'd make sure his nephew was a good and reliable boy, right?

Well anyways, it wasn't long before they found Agil and Eda strolling among the pools and glittering sand lights. It would have been pretty hard to miss a man like Agil, even in the shadowy cavern. The merchant had waved to Kirito and traded greetings as they got close.

"So I heard you and Asuna squeezed in a little alone time." The man gave that child-traumatizing smile as he left the implications hanging in the air. "I hope you got up to some fun."

Kirito scowled and answered dryly. "Oy, oy, Just what sort of fun do you think we were having?" It was just teasing, hopefully, but the Gnome couple seemed to delight in it in a way that was totally unfair. Who'd have thought Eda could bring this out in her husband. "And what about you two, hiding away in a romantic ore-lit cavern."

"It _is_ romantic, isn't it?" Eda supplied, the tall Gnome woman spreading her arms in a whimsical, sweeping gesture. "Absolutely beautiful."

"I told you it would be worth it." Agil said, the fondness he felt for his wife very clear in his voice. "Now don't say this wasn't worth waiting up for me."

"Hmm." She smiled as she held a hand mischievously to her cheek. "Well, _maybe_. You know this big guy had the _nerve_ to turn this into a business trip?"

Kirito knew all too well as a matter of fact, as a sheepish Agil was prodded by his wife. So that was why he was so particularly well dressed today. The Gnome had mentioned that he had business contacts in Gaddan that he was trying to get things started with. Between the magical and technological industries the Faeries were beginning to expand into, there were plenty of opportunities to go around. While Goubniu had was getting a head start on machining and heavy metal working, Gaddan was becoming home to a chemical industry that already employed five hundred people.

"So anyways, Kirito, I actually have a bit of a business proposition." Agil talked between deadly precise 'rib-pokes' being delivered by his wife as 'punishment' for talking about business. "I was talking with a couple of girls who are playing around with chemical production techniques. One's the brains of the business side of things and the other's got a real head for chemistry on her shoulders. Their Alchemy skills are top notch too. They think they can replicate the LeBlanc process here in Gaddan to start up alkali production on a large scale."

Agil had mentioned this before and Kirito had done a little brushing up. Mostly, he just knew what he'd heard. "Those are used in soap and textiles right?"

"Glass production too." The Gnome slapped his hands together. "They gave me a tour of their workshop this morning, and those girls definitely look like they have the skills to set this up. What they don't have is the capital to start mass production and the contacts to secure a market while they work out the bugs."

"In other words, you want me to throw in with the other investors." Kirito concluded without further prompting. "And also, you want me to put in a good word."

"You and Asuna move in those circles now." The Gnome pointed out wisely. "If you have to put up with the loss of freedom you should at least think about leveraging the connections. And it never hurts to diversify your holdings. Especially right now with everything happening all at once."

"Mmm." Kirito closed his eyes and furrowed his brow. "You'll need to convince Asuna too."

His wife might have been only a year older than himself, and her formal education cut short, but growing up in the Yuuki family it had been almost impossible not to pick up a little about business prudence. And they had both agreed any big finance decisions needed to be made jointly and carefully.

"Just keep it in mind Kirito." Agil advised. "This is a pretty serious opportunity, if you can help us out. I think you'd be looking at a seven, maybe ten percent cut . . ."

"Let's talk fifteen."

"What?!"

Kirito shrugged. "Yeah, you're saying you need our help. It's not just the money, right? If Asuna and I are going help you get a foot in the door, on top of sharing the financial risks, we'll be putting our reputations on the line too. That's getting pretty expensive, isn't it? So maybe it should be like twenty percent."

The Spriggan held his gaze perfectly level on Agil. Eventually the Gnome remembered to shut his mouth. But the grin that had replaced his shocked look seemed to say, as Kirito had suspected, that this was how the Gnome had expected things to go. "Man, where did you learn to bargain?"

"From the best." The two fist bumped. "Like I said, I'll bring it up with Asuna."

"And I'll see what the Twins think." Agil agreed. "Well, I know they won't like it. But depending on what you can wrangle, it's probably not impossible. Oh . . . hey!"

Eda had managed at last to find a weak spot under her husband's floating ribs. Scowling mockingly as she crossed her arms and pouted her lips. "And now, I think that's enough business for a while, husband."

"Ah . . . oh . . . " Agil scratched at the back of his head. "Yes Dear."

"He's such a hassle, isn't he Kirito?" Eda asked playfully. "Was he like this all that time Aincrad too?"

"Sell cheap and buy cheaper." Kirito repeated the words that had been the motto of the ruthless Merchant of Aincrad's 50th Floor. "So not too different at all."

The laugh they shared at Agil's expense was cut short by a sound that was higher, sharper, and much more pressing. It was immediate and caused Kirito to be on guard instantaneously, even before his brain had finished pushing it to the forefront of his consciousness. A scream.

"Asuna?" The Spriggan spun on his heels, eyes sweeping the glittering stardust chamber. "Asuna!" Alarm wiped every other thought from Kirito's mind in that split second. Reflex and old instincts threw the Black Swordsman into action even before he was fully, heart wrenchingly aware.

Agil was just a second slower on the uptake, but by then Kirito had already forgotten everything, he was moving even before the echoes began to fade, shoes finding traction on hard stone, and kicking off against slick sand. An eye blink to turn. A heart beat to fall into a sprint. Less than the span of a single breath to rocket across the hundred meter wide chamber, seeking the source of his wife's voice.

"Asuna!"

This place was supposed to be safe, wasn't it? Streams of sand and water splashed over his shoulder as Kirito cut beneath one of the Fountain Falls. There wasn't any danger here, was there? Idiot! He'd let his guard drop. He knew better than that!

There was Asuna, standing on the stepping stones that reached out into the middle of a violet and blue luminescent pool, doubled over and wreathed in flames as she cried out. Every fear and nightmare unfolded behind the Spriggan's eyes all at once.

"Asuna!"

And then faltered as his stomach went into flip flops and Kirito himself nearly took a painful spill. Asuna's cries had reached his ears again. And what he had mistaken in the echoes as cries of surprise and pain were . . .

"Waagh! Ahahaha aha aha hahaha!"

Laughter?

There was no other way to describe it, the flames that seemed to wreathe Asuna, puffing into existence, and dancing all around her, didn't appear to be doing the slightest bit of harm, and the look on the Maeve's face was a mixture of shock and open mirth, not fear or agony at being burned alive. Clutching her sides, the Maeve double over with another round of laughing and breathless pleas. "St-stop that! I-I'm . . . ticklish there p-please ah . . . ahaha!"

The last straw was Suguha looking dumbstruck rather than fearful and Sergeant Carmond standing with his arms crossed nearby and chuckling as Asuna squirmed and danced. "You have to hold still for them Ma'am! I think the little sprites'll get out on their own if you just . . . and she's not listening."

Kirito squinted, mystified, the strangeness of what was happening making him forget the mad dash of a few seconds before. And then the first hint of the truth came as Yui called to him. "Look Papa!"

Arms spread wide, the little Maeve girl had been transformed into a living perch for what looked like birds, if birds could be made from liquid crystal. The strange creature had to be a Mob, and an exotic one at that, but it seemed perfectly content to perch itself on Yui's outstretched arm, before spreading its wings and leaping off in a glide that took it down to the surface of the waters where it vanished before leaping from the surface again a moment later, this time in the form of a fish, and then once again becoming a bird that flew gracefully across the cavern pools.

"They're incredible, aren't they Papa?" Yui asked. Not everyone seemed to agree.

"Y-Yui-chan!" Yui's little friend Balandene cried as she clutched at her skirt and top, trying to keep them down in the short sharp blasts of wind that picked up as she was surrounded by strange, ghostly creatures that didn't appear to mean any harm but left the Sylph girl petrified all the same.

"Uhm?" As Kirito approached cautiously, Asuna saw him and reached out. "K-Kirito . . . h-help I can't t-take much more!" Something caused Asuna to shoot up straight, the Maeve girl's feet almost leaving the ground as her shawl squirmed and writhed and for a second Kirito was left readying his sword and half expecting a gruesome scene to unfold.

Instead, the shawl fell aside as a small head poked its way out from the stretched collar of Asuna's dress, tilted its head as it looked up at the Maeve girl from beneath her chin.

"Wagh?"

That was _his_ line, Kirito thought as he returned «Assassin's Blade» to its compacted storage form with a flick of his wrist. The danger had passed, there never was any to begin with. Crossing his arms and sighing, Kirito got his first good look at the thing which had nearly given him a heart attack. Well it was stuck now, tangled up in, well . . .

Asuna at last lowered her arms, carefully extracting the Mob from where it had gotten stuck beneath the front of her bra, and then held it at arm's length, little body squirming and jiggling like it was all made of jelly. The creature stopped and gave a little -chiirup!-

Kirito had been right to think it was something exotic, or more like completely _weird_ from the looks of it. As mobs went, it looked like someone had tried to combine the properties of a lizard, a plucked chicken, and a lump of still smoldering coal. The result was a creature that wouldn't have stood much chance against a Beast Type Evil God in a beauty contest.

Its scrawny body, stubby arms, and short legs were covered in patterns of coal black scales and fringed by a sullen ember glow from within, like its skin was just a cooled crust of magma. A broad, flat head housed eyes and little lumps that might have been ears, and puffed slender tongues of flame and smoke from what had to be its mouth, or maybe its nostrils. About the only redeeming trait the little creature had was its eyes, two big ruby red spheres that shone like precious gemstones and possessed a gloss like mother of pearl. The rest of it was completely hideous.

"You're adorable!" Asuna declared, and her tiny assailant released a triumphant -squeak!- of delight as it was hugged close and rubbed cheek to cheek by the Maeve girl. "Oh, Kirito-kun? Is something the matter."

"It's nothing." The Spriggan said as he suddenly felt nonplussed. It seemed his premonition about this 'vacation' was getting truer and truer all the time.

"U-Uncle, I thought you said there weren't any monsters here!" Balandene cried, the little Sylph had been cornered by three more of the small Mobs, each dancing at her feet and transforming one by one, the first two shifting back and forth between their ugly little bodies and the strange, ethereal apparitions with glowing blue eyes, the last bouncing excitedly before bursting into flames which became the body of a large bird, rearing back and flapping mightily before guttering away as the mob puffed up its chest and blew another tongue of fire.

"I said none of them were _dangerous_." Her Uncle laughed gently. "They won't hurt you Kazu, they're just saying hello, this is their home."

"Home?" Kirito took a closer look at the one in Asuna's hands. "So . . . are they an animal . . . or a mineral?"

"I'd try neither." Carmond said as he at last walked down and began to shoo the little mobs away from his niece. "Try «Elemental». They're Djinn."

"Djinn?" Asuna asked as she hefted the one in her arms. "Aren't they supposed to be fierce Elemental Warrior Mobs?"

"If there's enough of them in one spot. And definitely if you rile them up." The Salamander agreed. "And good luck seeing them this friendly down in their dungeons, they're vicious when they want to be. But up here, they've been pretty benign. I don't think there have been any reports of people being hurt by them. Really all they want to do is . . . "

"Play!" The small cry very nearly caused Asuna to drop the Djinn in her hands.

"Play!"

"Play!"

"Play!"

A chorus of little voices started up as each of the Djinn hopped to and fro. The one that had been sitting on Yui's arm chirped as it returned to shore and emerged from its watery body. "Play?" It tilted its head inquisitively. "Who?"

Yui smiled as she crouched down in front of the little elemental creature. "I'm Yui."

"Yui?"

"Un." The Maeve girl nodded her head eagerly.

"Okay!" The Djinn began to hop and flap its stubby wings, water conjured around them into delicate feathers. "Yui. Yui. Play?"

"Of course!" Yui cried, her new friend who chirupped happily as it scampered around her feet, jumping and transforming, its form ever in the process of changing from one shape into another. Yui seeming to remember then, looked to her Papa. "It's all right, isn't it Papa?" Big eyes waiting for his judgment. Kirito waved her on, it was probably fine after all.

"So, you're sure they're harmless?" Kirito asked as he glanced over to Carmond.

"Up here? Completely." The Salamander said confidently.

"What about this one?" Balandene pointed to the Djinn that was still puffing flames and flapping his wings furiously in front of her.

Her brother gave the Sylph girl a slap on the back. "I think he likes you Ban-chan."

The Sylph looked less than pleased by this revelation. "Wah!" She pointed an accusing finger to the Djinn, trembling as she spoke. "Like? It likes me?! I don't want to be liked by this weird thing!"

"Like! Like. Like?" The Djinn squirmed and then deflated as the Sylph Girl shook her head firmly.

Kirito felt another of the little elementals nudging at his leg. "Play? Play?"

"Uh . . . sure . . ." Why not? Kirito watched as Yui faced off against a pair of the Djinn, faking from side to side as they bounced and skipped excitedly across the water.

"Who? Who?"

"My name's Kirito?" Kirito supplied, wondering if the Djinn actually understood what he was saying or if it was just parroting words from leftover language scripts.

"Who. Kirito? Okay!"

"Yeah, you see them around plenty near the oasis and in the skies around the desert." Carmond explained as he picked up his niece and deposited her gently on his shoulder, safely out of reach of the Djinn until a few decided to fly up and try to nuzzle her while she squirmed unhappily. "Weird, I've never seen them go right for a person like that. Sorry Ma'am." He tugged at his nose as he put on a meditative air. "Maybe you're wearing something that smells nice to them or . . ."

"It's alright." Asuna told him. Having transferred her Djinn assailant into her arms, the mob was now snuggled up happily like a new puppy or kitten, blowing little rings of smoke in complete relaxation. "There's no harm done after all. But that was a pretty rotten trick." She added for the one nestled in her arms. The Djinn looked up at her. "So, how about it?" Asuna said with a pleasant smile. "Can I play too?"

"Play? Play! Play!" The Djinn burst from her arms on wings of fire, flapping and dancing and transforming into a much more impressive phoenix like creature before guttering back into its ugly little self.

"Sure, I'll . . ." Asuna stopped, blinking suddenly. The happiness and energy from moments before seemingly evaporated into thin air until all that was left was a paling girl who had just heard something she'd rather not have.

"Asuna?" Kirito frowned, something wasn't right.

"What did you just say?" Asuna asked. At first Kirito thought she was asking him, but then he heard what the Djinn was saying in between its happy chirps. Suddenly, he was as pale as Asuna.

"Play! Titania! Play!"


	4. Chapter 4

Halkegenia Online - Beach Episode Chapter 4

Ragdorian Lake, an icon of Tristain, the Kingdom of Water. Ragdorian Lake, life giver of rivers. Ragdorian Lake, landlocked jewel of aquatic beauty. Ragdorian Lake, home of the Water Spirits and their utopian city of the deep. Ragdorian Lake, the _really damn big Lake!_

That last one was Klein's own poetic addition, because sitting on the beach sipping beers all day while admiring the «Natural Beauty» by the lake shore sure hadn't prepared him for just how _big_ it all really was. He hadn't actually thought about it at the time, but from the beach he hadn't been able to see the far shore, and from the air, after nearly fifteen minutes, Gallia was still a distant haze on the horizon.

Damn if it wasn't _pretty_ though. His eyes wandered down towards the water, so blue it had almost gone black, and glittering in the refracted sun. From time to time he saw an island in the distance, or one passing by near below. The water would lighten near those little patches of land as the lake floor rose back up to the surface and Klein had a chance to make out what looked like some sort of colorful lake flora, like underwater forests.

"Oy, how about taking a dip in that?" Klein shouted loud enough to be heard by the other passengers atop the dragon. Well, one of them anyways. Blue hair whipping in the breeze, Shiune lifted a hand to her ear and smiled in that way that'd make your heart skip.

"It does look quite lovely!" The Undine called back. "Though I've heard the vibrant colors of the Lake Forest only come out where the water is quite cold!"

"There's also the Mobs to worry about nyah!" A third, slightly less welcome passenger added along with a Cheshire grin. "Might want to stick to the kiddy pool unless you're an Undine up for some competitive fishing sa, or you'll be fish bait in no time."

"Fish bait ba!" The Pixie tucked into Argo's cloak repeated. "For «Lake Dragons», and «Lilly Wing Fish», and «Sword Crabs», oh my chyaa!"

"But if that's not a problem for you . . ." Argo grinned wide enough to bare her little fangs. "I can give you a good deal on the Aquatic Survival Guide."

Klein squinted at the info broker, not sure whether he was more annoyed that she'd ruined the romantic mood he'd been trying to set up, or the fact that, of the three sorts of creatures Suisen had just mentioned, he wasn't sure which were Mobs and which were native Halkegenian wildlife. Actually, with that in mind . . .

"Oy, if the water around here's so dangerous, you sure we should be letting her do _that?_"

_Her_ being the Imp Konno Yuuki and _that_ being the way she was presently hurtling through the air on four violet wings, laughing like a maniac and seriously messing with the formation flying of the trio of Dragons.

"Yuuki-chan!" Silica called from her seat behind the Prince and the Montmorency girl on the leading wind drake.

"Come on Silica-chan. This is amazing!" The Imp laughed again as she contorted her wings to perform a dizzying corkscrew. "Between the water and the sky, I can't even tell up from down!"

"That's what I'm afraid of! And you're scaring the dragons!"

"I wouldn't fear, Miss Silica." Prince Wales assured like it was completely normal for someone to do something as insane as this. "These drakes are trained war mounts, they won't be put off by a girl fluttering in the breeze." That cavalier attitude was probably what Klein should have expected from a guy called the 'Prince Valiant' after all.

"Well, she's scaring Pina!" The munchkin girl insisted testily.

"Kyaa!"

"Don't encourage her!"

Klein looked back to Argo who could only offer a small shrug and a nod in their direction of travel. "The aquatic mobs usually can't fly. Or at least they usually can't fly very far." The Cait explained. "And the really nasty ones keep to the deep water since their job was to be «Border Guards»."

Right, monsters to keep players from wondering off the edge of the world. Klein thought about that one. On old maps, they used to draw dragons past the limits of the known world. Except Tristain already had those, plus lots of other nasty creatures, and now even more to boot. So when the explorers reached the edge of the known world, what would they draw? Klein suspected it'd probably give him nightmares.

"Besides, we're almost there." Argo pointed ahead to where Wales had set his dragon gently into an altitude bleeding curve that, in a few orbits, would bring them down on top of a small, kidney bean-shaped island quite conveniently placed at the boundary between a wide open expanse of shallows and a plunge into the abyssal depths.

From the sky, it looked pretty scenic if unremarkable, lush with evergreens except for a few small clearings, the sort of place you'd put an expensive vacation cabin on. Maybe a half kilometer across and only rising to a couple of dozen meters above the water, complete with its own pebbled beach overlooking a small bay. Okay, so if swimming was out, maybe they could get in some fishing later.

The Knights followed their Prince into his bank, the two fire drakes gliding down easily behind Wales' borrowed wind dragon to land on the largest stretch of open ground on the island, the beach, in a skidding trot. Klein got an early start, sliding off just before landing and hitting the beach on a flash of his wings.

Well that hadn't been so hard! "Look out bellow!" The Salamander was still thinking as he felt a pair of boots make firm and heavy contact with the back of his head, throwing him to the ground in a sprawl even as a familiar headache blossomed behind his eyes.

Yuuki cried out as she lighted onto the ground beside him and dropped to her hands and knees. "Klein-san are you okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?!"

'Don't let her see ya hurtin' Klein.' The Salamander forced a grin as he looked up from his face plant into the beach rocks. "Didn't even notice it, Little Sprite!" So yeah, he was chuckling, so why was Yuuki going pale . . . er. "Hey, little sprite?" Something hot was trickling down his forehead. For a minute Klein wasn't quite sure what until he wiped it with his fingers and they came away red. "Huh, oy, don't worry about it this is noth . . ."

"Wagh!" Yuuki grabbed onto his shoulders. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Klein, j-just hold on a sec, I've got some bandages in here somewhere!" She began to pat down the small collection of pouches hanging from her belt. Before Yuuki could get far, the lovely Miss Shiune made her appearance.

The Undine settled down beside the Imp girl, her sandaled feet barely disturbing the beach pebbles, like she was even _lighter_ than she looked. She placed a hand down on Yuuki's shoulder, stilling the frantic girl and then leaning down to inspect Klein for herself. _Really gorgeous_ blue eyes, the same gentle azure as her hair. The Salamander swallowed as he wondered just how ridiculous he looked at that exact moment as Shiune held his head steady with her hands.

When the bluenette spoke, she sounded relieved. "It's nothing more than a few abrasions from the rocks. Head cuts simply bleed a lot. Yuuki, give me your bandages and I'll take care of this."

"Un." Yuuki nodded quickly as she provided the handful of medical supplies from her belt. Couriers came pretty well equipped it seemed.

Blotting away the blood with some clean water and a handkerchief, the Undine nodded when she was at last satisfied. "Now hold still Klein-san." Shiune closed her eyes as she carefully placed her fingertips across Klein's scalp. "I'm not as good at this as Shouichi Sensei but a small scrape like this is no trouble."

"O-Okay so this is like . . . ah . . . ah . . . ahhhhhhhh . . ." Klein sighed as a blue glow spread from the palm of Shiune's hand at the prompting of a whispered chant, and a cool, numbing, tingle worked its way into his skin. That felt . . . _really_ . . . nice.

"It's an enhanced basic level healing spell." Shiune explained as her hand fell aside and she blotted away a little more blood before taking the bandages to Klein's head. "Plenty of Undines know it, but most other factions never bother. There's more powerful magic they'd rather concentrate on as healers." There was that smile again. "I will agree, however, it is rather relaxing, isn't it?"

"I'll say."

"Sorry. Sorry." Yuuki kept up her nodding and apologizing as the Knights and Prince Wales got the dragons settled and the rest of the party gathered up on the beach.

"Heh, no harm done, Little Sprite." Klein told her again. He felt at the bandages Shiune had applied and then pulled his headband back down to cover them. "Besides it was half my fault not looking out, right?"

"I'll say." Came the dry answer at his back. And another unpleasant person arrived. "Honestly, how the hell did you survive two _years_ in Aincrad again?"

Klein faced off against the smug leer of one Caramella, presently adjusting the sword carried on her back before planting hands on hips over him. "Oy, I'm a lot more impressive when I'm on the clock."

"Yeah?" Caramella cocked her head. "Cause right now you look like a tourist."

"And for once, you look like a _woman_." Actually wearing a dress and what have you!

"Bite me ya Lizard!"

"Now, now," Shiune interjected as she stood and brushed off her gown, like a mother scolding her little children, "No fighting you two." She turned and offered Klein a hand up which he eagerly accepted, mumbling a thank you and how it hadn't really been that big of a deal.

"Shiune-san, Yuuki-chan," Silica called from further up the beach, "There's something over here. Come take a look!"

"Those are the stairs to the mouth of the Spirit's Deepness." Montmorency said as she was helped down from her dragon by Prince Wales. "It's a place reserved for special negotiations with the Spirit."

"So it's like a shrine to the Water Kami?" Yuuki perked up. "Would it be okay for us to visit later?" Montmorency stopped and gave her a hard stare. "I meant," Yuuki spread her hands. "Uhm, I'd just like to see it, and maybe say thanks. To the Spirit that is. Even if it doesn't hear us, this is the Kami's beautiful home we've been enjoying, so I'd like to make the gesture."

The Montmorency corkscrew looked like she was giving the request some serious thought before she nodded. "You may go see for yourself so long as you do not disturb the waters there." The Little Sprite bowed and thanked her over and over again as she began to inch off in the direction of her Cait girl partner and Caramella's straw haired 'little brother'. They declared that they were going to 'reconnoiter' the island. What sort of kids even said something like that anyways? Shiune had followed after them at an unhurried pace, giving a little bow of thanks to the Water Mage as she passed.

In the end, it was Klein, Caramella, and Argo left on the beach with the two Knights, Prince Wales, and Montmorency. Just seven people and three dragons who didn't stick out at all like sore thumbs in the middle of an abandoned island. Klein kept up the smiling and waving act until the kids were a good ways down the beach and then only dropped it when he was sure they couldn't see.

Caramella was giving him _that_ look when he caught her from the corner of his eye. "What?"

"Oh brother, could you be any more obvious?" The Nymph muttered and then blew a loose lock of her hair out of the way. "Why don't you just go break a leg next time." Her arms fell to her sides, one hand resting on her hip while the other planted itself on her thigh. "Anyways."

"Yeah." Klein grunted as they both turned to Wales and Montmorency. For once the two of them were in complete agreement. The moons must have aligned perfectly or something, the Salamander thought.

The Water Mage just scowled at them like they were the problem. Although, Klein winced, that might actually be true. At least the Prince had the decency to look sorry, especially after letting them in on this. "I can't apologize enough for taking you away from your well deserved rest." Wales plead. "But I can't say I'm not grateful for the extra eyes and extra heads to put together."

"Don't sweat it so much." The Prince was a pretty sincere kid, so Klein didn't really count it against him. Turned out Kirito had been right to be suspicious after all, but he'd also been smart enough not to wade into it. "Better us than hassling Kirito and Asuna." Knowing those two, they'd probably get to feeling obligated to help if it turned out that this problem was really caused by the Faeries.

"You know you could have said something sooner." Caramella agreed. "Instead of coming to us at the last minute like this."

"You Faeries invited yourselves into this." Montmorency muttered under her breath. She probably still hadn't quite figured out how good Faerie hearing really was. "We didn't come to you at all."

Well, this hadn't exactly been what Klein had been expecting either when he'd started snooping around. The whole thing had bugged him as much as it had been eating at Kirito the day before, and unlike the Spriggan, he didn't have a wife or even girlfriend to hold him back, so he'd gotten to talking with Argo. The Cait Syth hadn't spilled much until Wales had come looking for her, and with Caramella helping to leverage the Prince, the story had begun to come out.

The Montmorency clan was in a tight spot it sounded like. It was looking more and more like their pact with the Water Spirit of Ragdorian Lake was in danger of collapsing and then the family had gotten desperate enough to go to Queen Henrietta for help. There was no hiding that the family needed this badly. After the mismanaging of their pact by the past generations, and the disappearance of their reclamation project under a desert's worth of sand, the family really couldn't take another blow of the same magnitude.

That was why Wales had been hanging out getting some sun on the beach when they'd arrived, and unsurprisingly, it had also been the reason that Argo had been there. She really was at the lake side to study mobs like she'd said, she'd just neglected to mention she was looking into the Lake's Kami as well and how the mobs or some other facet of ALfheim might have been responsible for its recent silence.

It just so happened Miss Shiune had overheard Argo saying how useful it would be to have an Undine with them for her research, and after being told enough but not too much, had decided to volunteer herself. It wasn't supposed to be anything too dangerous, Argo had promised while marking out a very clear disclaimer around 'supposed to be'.

Undines had the unique ability of «Underwater Flight» which was to say they could move at great speed beneath the surface of the lake while using their specially adapted wings as well as their underwater breathing ability to explore the safety of the shallows. More importantly, Undines didn't automatically agro many of the aquatic mobs which might come in handy in Argo's mission to contact the «Nyriads».

Mentioning the possible danger of flying out into the lake hadn't done much to discourage Shiune, in fact, the delicate looking Water Faerie had never lost her placid demeanor. Well, if she was intent on going, Klein wasn't going to let her head out alone. And where Shiune went, Little Sprite wanted to follow, the small risk of danger just meaning «Adventure» in her bright eyes. Which also meant Silica tagging along with Kino hot on their tails. The three of them would probably be alright for this, the Salamander had to admit. Silica and Yuuki were couriers used to a little danger and Kino was downright battle tested and had a protective streak like a lapdog that would stand up to a lion.

"Again, our sincerest apologies." Wales looked like his fortitude had taken a serious hit with all the apologizing. "And our thanks for coming with us this far. I know you three can be trusted to act with discretion on behalf of Tristain and the Faerie Court."

"For what it's worth, we're _knights_, Blondie, we're supposed to come running when the Prince or Queen calls." Caramella rolled her eyes. "Besides, you get yourself into trouble if I leave you alone. That's why Henrietta made me _promise_ to take care of you. She needs her boy-toy in one piece."

Montmorency had turned a particularly livid shade of red while Wales seemed as unfazed by this as anything_else_ he'd ever heard coming out of the Nymph's mouth. "Then let us conduct ourselves as Knights in her Majesty's service. Miss Montmorency, we are under your guidance."

If the responsibility seemed like too much to Montmorency, she didn't show it. Klein actually had to take a step back and think _hard_ about the fact that normal kids weren't like that. Or at least they shouldn't have to be. So why did Monmon have that look and determination that he only ever expected to see in the likes of Kirito and Asuna? He didn't really need to ask, he already knew the answer. Failure just wasn't an option.

"Trying to contact the Water Spirit by normal methods has failed to get results. That only really leaves the Spirit's Deepness. It's a cavern that plunges through this island down to the Spirit's home in the depths of the lake. If there is anyplace we will not fail to reach the Spirit, this would be it."

Seemed simple enough, so simple that Klein wondered why they were even needed until Argo spoke up. "Whether we reach the Spirit or not, tis a good place to keep an eye out for the Nyriads nyah. My contacts say the «Desert Zone» coast doesn't agree with them, so they migrated out here to the islands. Tis further from the land based mobs, and the shallows give them plenty of space to hunt sa."

Just as long as all they were doing was trying to spot them and contact the enigmatic aquatic mobs it shouldn't be too dangerous. There was that word again. _Shouldn't_.

"Admit it Klein." Caramella slapped him on the shoulder. "You really just want to see scantily clad mermaids."

"Oy oy, I guess that makes two of us."

"Then Miss Montmorency." Wales gestured inland towards the old trees and the stone carved steps that lead up to the center of the island. "By all means lead the way. Sir Thetcher, Sir Morison, keep watch on the dragons."

* * *

Stepping onto the first of the stone stairs was like stepping into another world. The trees were fast to close behind Montmorency and her party, hiding the beach and the sounds of the water, and making it almost trivial to forget this was an island. But not at all easy for the Water Mage to forget the gravity of where she was or what she was doing.

This was an ancient place said to sit atop a wellspring of primal magic. Even to senseless humans that fact was almost tangible in the air if one were merely to stop and take notice.

Montmorency had never been to this place before. Even when she'd been just a small child. Even the ritual by which the Spirit had been given a dram of her blood under the witness of her entire family had been performed safely from the Lakeside. To her knowledge, no Montmorency had dared to be so bold as to come to the Spirit's abode in over two generations. It was a privilege reserved for a time when her family's relationship with the Spirit had been much fairer.

But Father had permitted it. The family patriarch was insistent that every means be exhausted, and Montmorency, being the youngest, had been given the task of seeing it done. Having already had her confidence shaken once the night before, she rather hoped that she could be forgiven for not being in the best of spirits.

And to think she would be bringing _Faeries_ into this place. Faeries who might well have been the cause of the Spirit's displeasure. And Faeries who were presently speaking so blithely about matters that they were _far_from qualified to understand.

Having heard such words from the varied Nobility in the past, words that spoke of no comprehension of nature or the Spirits, it was particularly irksome to hear from Fae who claimed connection to a faith which honored the Spirits of the Land. Though, credit where it was due, at least_ some_ of them had realized their deficiency and were making the effort to correct it. She supposed she could not have hoped for more.

"So just to get this straight here, the Water Spirit tisn't bound to Ragdorian Lake sa?" The cat eared and cat whiskered Faerie beside her asked with open interest and an open notebook in her hands.

Montmorency tilted her head, regarding the other girl carefully. Of course, there was no way to tell for certain, but it was possible that youthful Faerie face was the front of a being far older than herself. It would explain how she could seem so accomplished at such a young age.

Miss Argo, the Faerie 'Information Broker', Montmorency would have used the more broadly accepted term of 'Spy Master' but it would indeed seem that the Faerie term was the more accurate of the two. Though she was a Servant of the Crown with comparable standing to a junior Envoy, her role was both broader and in some ways more innocent than a spy.

Information had value, so the Faerie girl claimed, such information need not even be secret, simply disparate and disorganized. In fact, it was not far from the truth to say Miss Argo was less selling information, and more selling the insights of common sense. Which to Miss Argo's credit, thinking of a certain blond fool, was not nearly so common as Montmorency could have hoped.

Which lead Montmorency to consider if she should speak a word. As a 'Broker' of information, anything she said might be valuable enough to be sold. The family had many secrets tied to the Lake Spirit, secrets that she would never speak aloud. But it was Miss Argo's talent to seek out the words within words.

In the end, the Water Mage restrained her suspicions. The Faeries were allies of the Crown, officially her countrymen, and Miss Argo was in direct service to the Queen. If she could not trust an agent of the Crown, then who could she trust?

"Correct." Montmorency confirmed tersely. "The Spirit is not tied to any one location and can exist where so ever there is water for it to inhabit."

"_Any_place?" The Cait girl seemed very interested by this development. "So it could exist in a pool or a pot?"

"If absolutely necessary." Montmorency said. In fact, that was just how her family had set off down the path of so grievously offending the Spirit in the first place. "Though I believe it would find such an existence far from desirable and seek wider waters for its comfort."

Miss Argo made a few notes, ticking down her thoughts in Faerie script while her tiny assistant, perched on her shoulder, carefully read and consigned every word to her own prodigious memory. "What about flowing water like a river or a stream sa?"

"Those too, I suppose."

"Or underground, like in a well or . . ."

"Yes yes!" Montmorency frowned heavily as she almost lost her patience. "Those too. A Water Spirit may exist _wherever_ there is _water_."

That seemed to silence Miss Argo at last. The girl walked along silently for several moments as her nose twitched and her eyes fell back over her notes. Her next question was asked in a conversational tone, so casual that Montmorency was almost left speechless.

"What about the water in a human body? Could the Spirit exist in that?"

A spirit . . . inhabiting a human body? Montmorency had to _try_ to keep the squirming unease from showing. "I – I suppose . . ." Montmorency pulled at one of her ringlets as she answered carefully. "Not the Lake Spirit though, it has grown far too large to inhabit the water of a single body. But a lesser spirit might do so if the conditions were right." Or might come into existence within the waters of a body. "But I have no doubt that it would kill the host to take on such a thing." That was, if they were not already dead . . .

"Why would you wish to know?" Montmorency asked, doing her best to keep her voice sounding neutral and untroubled.

"No _particular_ reason sa. Tis simply a follow up on a story I had heard passed around a while ago."

"We followed the rumors ba!" The little Pixie girl on her master's shoulder announced proudly. "The truth is in the legends chya. Like the Lover Ondine."

"Tis a popular legend in the North sa." Miss Argo mused with a wistful look in her eyes. "A Lover buried in a place of powerful magic, resurrected to seek out her love after many years."

"Tragedy always befalls in that legend." Montmorency pointed out quietly. Every version of the story ended badly in one way or another. "The dead cannot be returned to life, no matter the strength of magic or the purity of love." And beside that, as a direct descendant, she bore a particular distaste for such things.

It was just a _filthy_ little rumor that had been spread by those jealous of the family when they had held wealth and power and favor with Royalty! With the fall of their fortunes, that lie had guttered out. The Nobility had lost interest in her family as soon as they had been brought low.

An old wives tale that few in the family would care to admit had ever been associated with them, but which they had all been told in secret at some time or another. A tale that verged entirely too close to the forbidden arts. The very thought would make anyone's skin crawl. To even _suggest_ that their family line might have been birthed from . . .

Blessedly, the Faerie did not continue this line of inquiry, turning her attention to safer subjects and too absorbed in her notes and ledgers to notice Montmorency's sigh of relief. "So then sa, the Spirit can live in whatever body of water that's big enough, it just prefers having this whole lake to stretch out in."

"That isn't the only reason actually." Were that it was, dealings with the Spirits would be made so much more simple. But the Cait looked like she could sustain the interest, and it might even shed some light now. "While Ragdorian Lake is beloved by the Lake Spirit and home to it and its kin, it is not entirely for the same reasons that we humans appreciate it." They were nearly to the top of the steps, Montmorency could see the summit through the thinning trees. "Put simply, the Lake bed rests atop a Ley Line."

The Water Mage knew a sense of disappointment at the sight of the Faerie's blank expression. She had hoped that the Faeries would be less ignorant than commoners, but there was no helping it. And so Montmorency had found herself explaining.

"A Ley Line is a prevailing current of primal magic running beneath the earth. Where the lines near the surface they make attractive homes for the Spirits who benefit from their power." Montmorency said as if she was instructing a child before receiving another, more pleasant, surprise.

"I bet the Spirits get pretty upset if humans do anything to mess with the Ley Line's alignment sa."

"Why . . . yes." Montmorency shook her head. "But how did you know that?"

The Cait girl grinned back. "Twas a guess sa. We didn't have magic in our world, but we did have some of the ideas, interesting to see how some of them are close to the truth of this one. So people can affect these Ley Lines . . ."

The Fae had 'imagined' magic? Well of course they had, given their illusion game which had been at the heart of this mess. Montmorency recovered herself quickly. "Usually they can't. Most Ley Lines run leagues under the ground, and few human ventures could touch them. But Ragdorian Lake runs deep, and since the Ley Line is one that governs the element of water . . ."

"Flow in and out of Ragdorian Lake can make a difference." Argo finished with a thoughtful expression.

"Exactly." Montmorency agreed with a small grimace. "Just as we do with our fields and forests, the Spirit manages its Ley Line for its own benefit. For that reason, the Lake Spirit will tolerate only small forays into its domain. Humans are guests of the surface, we are permitted to fish from the shore and there are, or were, pacts to control the amount of water which could be taken or drained into the lake." It had been the mismanaging of those terms combined with the insult against the Spirit which had led to her family's downfall.

"Uhuh." That Caramel swordswoman nodded her head as she stretched arms behind her neck. "And I bet the rearrangement of the landscape and a desert showing up right next door hasn't bothered that Ley Line _at all_."

"A disrupted Ley Line could cause . . . _problems_." Montmorency agreed slowly. As they had in the past.

Those few families who had made pacts with the Spirits were reluctant to share wisdom among one another, but the details of some past occurrences were well known to all of them. The last great eruption of the Fire Dragon Mountains had occurred three hundred years ago when the Ley Line there had become perturbed.

Yet no such disaster had befallen Tristain in the wake of the Transition, and with the weight of events, an investigation had been long in the happening.

"Father probably intended to ask after the Lake Spirit about the state of the Ley Line so that he could advise her Majesty. As with Spirit Magic, Pentagon Elemental Magic cannot effect the Lines directly." Montmorency reasoned slowly. "It was when Father's call was not answered that we knew something was wrong." Stepping off of the stairs, the Water Mage awaited the others. "Something must have happened to the Spirit."

"Something connected to ALfheim." Miss Argo finished with a statement of the obvious.

The Salamander Knight, Sir Klein, stopped in place on the steps. "Oy what you're saying is some Mob hurt the Spirit? That'd have to be one hell of a «Boss» wouldn't it?"

"The Spirit's power is nearly absolute within its domain." The young Water Mage agreed. That was what had her so worried. "It's possible that a backlash from the Ley Line might have hurt it but . . ." If that were the case, they wouldn't _need_ the Spirit to tell them something was wrong, the evidence would be immediately apparent on the surface. "In any case," Montmorency continued, "if the Spirit was badly injured, it would have retreated to its Deepness to recover."

She directed her party's attention to the humble structure atop the Island, little more than a stone ring surrounding a deep blue pool, like an immense well ten mails across. It was the only man made structure permitted within the borders of the lake.

"This cavern connects to the outer portions of the Deepness. If so ever my family needed desperately to communicate with the Water Spirit, we were to do it here." Under desperate circumstances indeed, she thought. The Spirit would not like to be disturbed, whatever its contract with her family might have been. She closed her eyes, as a Montmorency Daughter, it was her solemn duty to take that risk.

"Miss Montmorency." Prince Wales offered an encouraging whisper in her ear. Yes of course, she felt as her constitution buoyed, if the Prince Valiant could stand with her then she had no right to hesitate.

Marching out to the lip of the pool, she paused to look down into the deep, perfectly placid waters, and then after taking a single breath to brace herself, she held out her hand to repeat the ritual from the night before. Today there was no need for Robin to carry the blood out into the water. The Lake Spirit would detect her blood instantly if it touched upon this place.

Another press of the knife drew a thick bead of blood from the tip of her thumb. Then with a squeeze, that droplet fell, striking the water and rather than mixing, proceeded to fall though the surface like a leaded weight. The ripples of its passage died away quickly, the waters became once again still. All that was left was to wait.

The only sound was the wind, the rustling of tree branches, and the songs of birds.

And to wait.

The waters remained as smooth as glass, touched by neither the winds or wind swept debris.

And then _wait_.

This couldn't be happening. The thought broke Montmorency's resolve like a glass dashed against rock. This couldn't, _couldn't_ be happening. The family would be ruined again, a third time in just two short generations. Father would be furious . . . They would call off the marriage agreement!

Montmorency only realized she hadn't been breathing when she began to feel faint.

A hand grabbed her by the shoulder, steadying her in place before she could begin to fall towards the water and not letting go as she sank slowly to the ground. She was very surprised to see that it was the rough and calloused hand of the Salamander who must have crossed the distance between them in a heartbeat when she had shown herself to be unsteady.

"Sir Klein?" Montmorency mumbled as she came to rest, hands braced on the ground in front of her and eyes fixed dully on the unmoving and unmoved water before her.

"Oy Monmon!" Sir Klein grunted. "Are you listening? Hey, are you alright?"

"Y-Yes . . . Yes I'm listening." She managed to recover her wits enough to say. Foolish, this falling down helpless would do no one any good. She accepted a hand back to her feet, tugging at her traveling cloak as she bought herself time to think.

"Miss Montmorency." Prince Wales stepped forward. "Then I presume contact with the Lake Spirit was not successful."

"It would have answered almost at once in this place." Montmorency asserted. Which meant something really had happened.

"I assume there are no other means of investigating the Spirit's lair." Wales frowned as he came to stand beside Sir Klein and gave Montmorency a worried looking over.

"Doesn't Shiune know «Water Breathing»?" Dame Caramel asked as she stood arms crossed. "If the Spirit won't come to us, why can't we go to it?"

Montmorency almost laughed. It would have been hysterical laughter. Force their way into the home of the Spirit?! "The Spirit would never tolerate a human in its home, and within its domain you would need to be a being of _immense_ power to resist, much less survive." And if the Spirit was not answering, then what did that say of what had confronted it.

"Not to mention the Lake tis upwards of three kilometers deep sa." Miss Argo added. "«Water Breathing» might be better than scuba gear, but it won't protect you against the pressure. Faeries are tough, but not even Kii-bou could survive down _there_."

"A Water Mage could probably form an air bubble to explore the depths." Wales stroked his chin thoughtfully before seeming to discard the idea. "We cannot ask that of Miss Montmorency however. We would need to call in a Triangle from the military forces. Miss Montmorency, can you think of anything else?" She shook her head slowly. At the moment, nothing came to mind. "We can wait and try again. We should do that at least once." It would be a disservice to the rest of the family to give up so quickly, and she thought she might think of something in the meantime.

A short, shrill sound pierced the still air. It was immediately recognizable for what it was, a whistle, but no bird's whistle. "An alert call." Prince Wales frowned as he pulled his hands from his flying jacket.

"Must be Morison or Thetcher." Dame Caramel lifted a hand to her delicately pointed ears as the whistle came again. "That's the urgent return signal." She said.

Urgent return? Did that mean . . . "Mobs?" Montmorency asked. Had those strange creatures already managed to colonize this far out into the lake?

Wales answered as he turned in the direction of the steps. "We'll see. If it were any real trouble they'd be alerting us with a call to battle or an ambush warning."

For all of its 'urgency' the Prince did not appear terribly hurried. Although he permitted Dame Caramel and Sir Klein to fly ahead, Wales himself was satisfied to return to the beach at a swift jog. The whistle came again on the way back down, muted now by the trees, and this merely reassured the Prince. "They most certainly wouldn't be calling for us now if this turn of events meant imminent danger. They'd be too busy fighting."

And then upon reaching the beach, Montmorency saw for herself. Sir Thetcher and Sir Morison standing back from the shore, each with one hand on the noses of their anxious drakes and the other on the hilts of their swords.

Sir Klein and Dame Caramel standing close to the forest edge were past looking dumbstruck, neither had reached for their weapons, but they both looked ready. And Miss Shiune and the children spread out near the water, Shiune in fact standing in the surf, standing among _others_.

Montmorency sucked in a breath when she saw them clearly for herself. Of course, there had been stories of such creatures for the longest time, but no one, no one alive anyways, had ever claimed to have met one and been able to give any proof. Every account was hearsay, every description the retelling of a dream and no two alike.

Maybe they had always been figments, fantastical things imagined but never _real_ in the same way that the Faeries had imagined magic before in their own world. Only now, those figments had finally been birthed into the world, given weight, and substance, and life of their own by Faerie Magic. An existence they used now to stand with warrior's poise knee deep in the water, a party a dozen strong wielding spears and tridents as they stood off from the Faeries, all but one who appeared to have just finished with Shiune.

"They're . . . _mermaids_." Montmorency whispered under her breath. And mer_men_ she added for the benefit of the half dozen beings who stood tall, with broad, bare, and most definitely masculine chests.

"They're actually called «Nyriads»". Miss Argo explained with an undeniably intrigued note in her voice. "Although tis a subset of the «Mermaid» class."

A rather obvious observation, Montmorency thought as the 'mermaid' closest to Shiune noticed them and then turned back to the Undine for an explanation. At a distance, Montmorency couldn't hear any of what was said, and just when it would have been useful it seemed it was beyond the hearing of the Faeries with her as well.

Her explanation was coming to meet her, in any case, from out of the depths no less. The Nyriad had turned to its compatriots, offering its trident to one of the others and then following Shiune onto the shore. "Looks like we're going to get a chance to talk to them." Miss Argo murmured under her breath. "You said you were trained to communicate with the Lake Spirit sa? Think you can give it a try with _them_?"

The Water Mage nodded before she even realized what she was agreeing to. It was a disconcerting experience to say the least. Montmorency had been tutored by her family in how to be an envoy to the Lake Spirit, a faceless being, but this creature _did_ have a face, one that was cool and emotionless, _bored_ even as it raised its head regally. And unlike the Water Spirit, with the help of two strong legs, the Nyriad was perfectly at home on the land.

Its form was definitely female, there was no mistaking that in her state of dress, barely wearing more than a few scraps of form hugging leather, leather leggings, and leather arm guards, all a shade of tan only slightly deeper than her skin. There was far more of that smooth and glossy skin on display than there was leather preserving her modesty, and it left very little to be imagined.

Yes, Montmorency decided, the woman was definitely from humanoid stock, or more likely Faerie based on the elongated and rounded ears that folded back along her head, albeit more slender of build than some of the Fae she had seen flaunting themselves on the beach the day before.

A figure that could best be called lean, streamlined even, save for the necessity of wide hips to accommodate anchoring of the long, thick, and muscular tail that protruded from the base of her spine and terminated in a pale, translucent rudder fin that she took care not to drag though the beach stones. Tail and fin undulated and writhed with her gait, like she had lived her whole life using it to balance, and its effect was like an additional display of her light footed grace.

The woman's . . . dress . . . left little room for decoration, her only concessions to ornamentation a golden chain that hung off of her hips, and the countless colorful beads twisted in her hair. Her hair that shone and shimmered silver in the sun like the scales of fish and which gathered in a thick mane around her head before running its ways down her spine and tail like the dorsal scales of a Water Drake.

Montmorency swallowed as she looked up. The Nyriad couldn't have been more than a scarce few inches taller, but she carried herself with a natural grace and confidence that was almost impossible for Montmorency to believe, shoulders set squared and chest out, back arched so that when she breathed in the air, the narrow slits of closed gills opened minutely between the backs of her ribs. Her hands rested at her sides, fingers closed into fists.

The Nyriad gazed down at her with gray eyes. She gazed up at the Nyriad. Face to face, Montmorency wandered if dealing with the Lake Spirit wouldn't have been easier.

"Montmorency-san." Shiune came forward to break the ice between the two 'women'. "Let me please introduce you. This is Ianth, leader of this hunting group and wife of the clan chief."

Wife? Montmorency declined to ask how such a thing was possible. Was this Nyriad not one of the Mobs? How could she be a woman already married? The Undine didn't treat this development as strange at all, instead smiling kindly to the Nyriad woman as she completed the introductions of Montmorency and Prince Wales and explained that they were 'dwellers' of this new land.

Something about what had just been said bothered the Faerie 'Information Broker' too, causing her to still the swaying of her tail and tuck her chin back inside of her cloak. "Suisen? Ianth?"

"Right Nee-chan, she's . . ." The Pixie whispered something in her master's ear that Montmorency couldn't make out. Whatever it was had stolen some of the Cait's amusement and replaced it with a somber air. Miss Argo cast her eyes to Miss Shiune for an explanation. "So when did this development occur sa?"

"Sir Thetcher saw them in the water as they were coming ashore." The Undine answered. "Some of them approached me, I suppose because of my Race. They haven't made any aggressive moves, I think they're just surprised to find us here. I told them that you would want to talk." The Undine nodded to Montmorency and then to Wales.

"Thank you Miss Shiune," Prince Wales replied, "You've done us quite a favor."

Montmorency blinked away the strangely hypnotizing influence of the Nyriad's gray eyes and took a step forward, back straight. She gave a courtesy, regardless of how ridiculous it was to offer to a fish person who most certainly wouldn't understand the gesture. At first the Nyriad merely tilted her head, and then tucking her chin against her breast, she took hold of two fronds of light linen that formed a translucent patterned half skirt which covered the base of her tail, and gave a reasonable approximation of the gesture.

So they could understand courtesy, Montmorency thought, good that would mean . . . although she would have preferred that they understood the idea of personal space as well. No sooner had the greetings been completed then the Nyriad had moved in. For a creature which seemed cool and emotionless, face locked in that bored expression of contempt even now, she seemingly had the relentless curiosity of a child as she reached out, gently but insistently taking hold of Montmorency's hands with her own and comparing them.

Just as she'd suspected, the Nyriad's skin was as smooth and glossy as it looked, completely free of any hairs or follicles, and with a slick, vaguely 'gummy' texture which the Water Mage couldn't quite place but which wasn't unpleasant. More unpleasing was the strong scent of fresh fish that was carried on her every breath.

"G-Greetings . . ." Montmorency began as she tried to politely ignore the Nyriad's distracted prodding and fascination with her body. "I am Montmorency . . . Montmorency Margarita La Fère de Montmorency . . . On behalf of the Montmorency family and her Majesty our Great Queen Henrietta . . . oh Nyriad Ianth I come in peace . . ."

She swallowed again as the Nyriad stopped her playing with and comparison of their ears and hair. She seemed to be giving the words some thought before she stepped still _closer_ to the Water Mage, so that they were pressed to one another now. Damp skin soaked the front of Montmorency's blouse as the Nyriad put both arms loosely around her waist and then nuzzled her head into the crook of her neck. A tingling sensation raced down the young mage's spine.

"Bluh . . . wha . . . wha . . . !" And with strong arms around her waist! These Nyriads were deviants! Just like the Fae they were deviants! The thought died as swiftly as it had been born as she was confronted by a voice. It was her own voice, and it seemed to echo about inside of her head, but not from any of her thoughts.

_G-Greetings . . ._ She heard herself say . . . _I am . . . Ianth_ . . . First in her own voice and then in Shiune's to deliver the name. Montmorency reached a hand to her own jaw, brushing through the Nyriad's long, stringy and almost slimy hair in the process. She could feel the vibrations, like a _purr_ that was shared between the bone of the Nyriad's brow and those of her own jaw.

"Miss Montmorency?" Prince Wales tilted his head. "I suppose she is communicating with you?" The Prince inferred and received a nod to confirm his theory. "Most interesting."

"The Nyriad's must not have normal vocal cords sa." Argo muttered under her breath. "Their attack abilities are «Sonic» based . . . Tis it an adaption?"

_Why did you . . . Come . . . Ragdorian Lake . . . Island . . . This Place . . ._ The voices spoke in turn, one after another, each different, as if they had been stitched together from a half dozen different conversations. It was strange, but almost pleasant in a way, a cascade of whispered words.

"Because this Island is home to the Spirit's Deepness." Montmorency said, grimacing as something occurred to her. If the Nyriads were inhabiting the waters here, it was more proof that something was deeply wrong. "And what business do you have here? What are your people doing at the Spirit's Deepness?!" Why were they even in the Lake?! Montmorency thought angrily, why were these stupid _fish . . ._

A disapproving sound rose from the Nyriad, a mix of clicks and high pitched whines that resolved into a another whispering series of voices. _Not . . . Fish_!

"I-I never meant to say . . . !"

_Said . . . By . . . small . . . voice_ . . . Ianth whispered into her head. _Of course, stupid_, this was something like the thrown voice spell of Wind Magic, the Nyriad would be able to hear every sound that Montmorency made, even to herself. And now she might have leveled insult with her first words!

"Forgive me oh Ianth of the Nyriads. These are difficult times for my people and . . . I did not think about my words. I devalued them by speaking such things." Montmorency prayed the transgression would be forgiven. It either was, or Ianth did not overly care.

_Exodus . . . Run . . . Crescent Bay . . . Not safe . . . follow the rivers downstream . . . But . . . Hunters . . . attack my friends . . . Day at the beach . . . three . . . clan . . . badly injured . . . Came . . . here . . . Island . . . safe zone . . ._

"What is she saying?" Wales asked, making no threatening moves, and keeping his voice low and level.

"She says that her clan came from the Crescent Lake by way of the marsh and river. They came to this island because they were attacked by hunters closer to the coast." Montmorency repeated. The purrs rising from Ianth grew deeper and were joined by more of her pleased clicks and whines.

_Island . . . safe zone . . . good hunting . . . shallows safe . . . treasures and ruins . . . salvaging . . . good place. Must . . . Lead the way! . . . Until . . . Love . . . Returns . . . _

Love? Montmorency realized, she meant her husband! But could a Mob have such a thing? The Faeries had been real people before, they'd simply been enshrined in new bodies by the Transition. But Ianth was just an illusion wasn't she? Strange, Montmorency thought, but she had not noticed the simple golden ring that Ianth wore on her finger until that moment.

_Love . . . left behind . . . Four . . . moon . . . seasons . . . a long time ago . . . Before . . . new moon . . . _

Four moon seasons? Four cycles of the moons. And before the new moon. Then that would mean since the Transition. But then . . . Montmorency silenced that thought. She didn't trust that she wouldn't sub vocalize those words. When she looked up, Ianth's face was still set in its mask of contempt, but her _eyes_ told a different story.

'Worrying for her love.'

Gray eyes that looked so unspeakably sad in a face locked in that rigid expression. Montmorency couldn't help but reach out, touching two fingers to the Nyriad's cheek to confirm her suspicion. A face was a wonderful thing, it told so many stories, and was a bridge between oneself and others. But although Ianth's face was beautiful, Montmorency's fingers were met not by pliant flesh as she'd have expected, but by something rigid and tough, with all the expression of a mask. Those pained gray eyes were locked in that prison of a face. It made Ianth seem so lonely . . .

"I'm sorry . . . but I don't know about the whereabouts of your husband . . . you're the first Nyriad I've ever met. I only even heard of you a few days ago."

The Nyriad allowed Montmorency's touch for a moment more and then took her hand firmly by the wrist and pushed it away so that she could. _Why did you come? . . . Island . . . this one is too small! . . . It's too far! . . . Why? . . . Island . . . here?_

"We came to this lake humbly seeking audience with its Guardian Spirit." She explained. "I seek the Spirit's whereabouts. Its Home lies in the depths below this island. Please, Miss Ianth, if you know anything, please tell us."

The Nyriad cocked her head appraisingly, bright intelligent eyes glittered as the words were understood and she cast her gaze back to the others on the beach. What followed was a rapid fire mixture of clicks, whines, and whistles that would have made Montmorency's head ache if it had gone on for long. When Ianth turned back, she spoke first in her own parroted voice.

_I'm sorry . . . but I don't know . . . deep water . . . dangerous . . . stay away . . . strange . . . lights in the dark . . . twinkling stars . . . we do not go there . . ._

No doubt the Nyriads had experienced quite enough surprises, Montmorency thought to herself, forgetting that Ianth still nuzzled her neck.

_No . . . know . . . is dangerous . . . know . . . why . . ._ The Mob's frame grew stiff and agitated . . . _D__eep water . . . home . . . to . . . Her Majesty . . . _

* * *

The annoying thing about questions was that they tended to get answered in the form of more questions. Part of why Argo had decided long ago to be satisfied with «Information» rather than questing for answers was that it would have driven her insane not getting results. A question might not always have an answer, but it always contained information, another piece of a bigger puzzle. Get enough of those pieces together and . . . you still might not have an answer, she admitted . . . but it might be enough to make out a fuzzy picture of what was really going on.

So, the Cait pulled her cloak close over her ears as the wind batted lightly at her cheeks, just what was really going on?

Question one, what had happened to the Spirit? It wasn't talking to anyone, even its appointed emissaries.

Question two, did ALfheim have something to do with it? The Spirit had been contacted occasionally in the past and then not at all since the Transition. That was pretty damning either way.

Question three, who was 'Her Majesty'? The Nyriads had been less than forthcoming in their explanations. Their means of communication didn't help things much either, but it sounded like they were referencing someone or something that had existed in ALO. Possibly a «Boss» or a «Quest Giver». Argo had already made a note to ask her contacts in Gaddan, some of the other brokers might be able to point her in the right direction.

Question four, did 'Her Majesty' have something to do with the Spirit's disappearance? The Spirit was supposed to be incredibly powerful within its domain, a simple «Boss» shouldn't have given it too much trouble. And yet . . .

The information broker turned Crown Agent shook her head. Just what sort of picture was this painting?

Argo cast her gaze down towards the overflying shallows. It had been closer to sunset than noon by the time that the dragons had lifted back off into the sky, serpentine forms gliding on measured beats of their broad, powerful wings. To her left, the sun was casting rays of shimmering light across the Lake's surface, forming a path ever westward toward the horizon.

The view was spoiled a little by the company, however, as Argo had found herself returning to shore while sharing a saddle with Prince Wales and Miss Montmorency. Prince was fine as usual, it was the Corkscrew that had the Cait worried.

Montmorency had more reasons than most to hate Faeries, or at least to not care too much for them or the denizens of ALfheim at large after what the Transition had done to her family's lands. Argo had expected working with her to be more like working around her, but the Noble girl had managed to be a surprisingly polite companion so far. Either she was really good at hiding her true feelings, or she genuinely didn't hold the circumstances too much against the Fae.

That didn't mean working with her had been easy, however, just not impossible. The bouts of stress induced passive aggression sure hadn't helped. But now, worryingly, even those were gone in the wake of her visit to the Spirit's Deepness. Montmorency had gone deathly quiet, and not just the talking, everything about her was subdued as they flew. Reading between the lines, Argo didn't care for what she was seeing.

Now might have been a good time to slip off and stretch her wings . . .

"Why so glum chya?"

Or she could just let Suisen break the ice as the Pixie stuck her head out from the warmth and safety of the nest inside her 'Nee-chan's' cloak. Argo wasn't exactly sure how a person the size of a rodent could make her voice carry like that, but somehow, Suisen always managed to make herself heard when she had something to say.

Montmorency looked up as if she had been lost in a daze. Her expression was painfully melancholic. "Miss Argo . . ." She sounded so beaten that the Cait couldn't help but cringe. Today might not have been as productive as she'd hoped, but for Montmorency it had been an outright disaster.

Between speaking with the Nyriads and exploring the island, Montmorency had tried two more times to contact the Lake Spirit. The results had been the same as the first. Nothing. It had taken Montmorency a while to calm herself down after each failure.

Of course, the Nyriads didn't know anything, or they claimed not to anyways. Argo grimaced and buried her chin in her cloak. Was she really becoming that paranoid now? There was nothing in ALfheim's lore that suggested the Nyriads were particularly powerful as mobs went, definitely not powerful enough to bring down something that ruled all of Ragdorian Lake. Or that they would be malicious beyond simply attacking Faeries that intruded on their domain. Maybe it was those unmoving faces? Someone must have gotten lazy with the facial animations. It made them all look like they were hiding something.

"Mon-chan." Argo called over her back. "Listen up, I know a guy in Gaddan who might be able to get us some info on whatever is living down in the Lake. This region, tis his area of expertise sa. Once we know more we can plan our next move. Okay?" It wasn't much, but it was the best that could be done for now.

Montmorency had just nodded her head and gone back into her own quiet little world for a while.

"Nee-chan?" Suisen tugged at her hair beneath her cloak.

"She'll be fine sa." Argo spared another glance over her shoulder. She'd probably be fine, she corrected.

"I suppose I shall need to send a report back to father. He and mother are in the Capital at the moment." Montmorency's voice trailed again, and then she added, "Also, I should think it would be wise to speak with the Nyriads again once we learn what we can in the city, and also, on the matter of Ianth . . ."

Argo closed her eyes, she'd known this might come up, but she'd been hoping it wouldn't. She'd really reallybeen hoping it wouldn't. Not because she was afraid of it, but because, well, even having all of the information, there really wasn't a good solution to this one.

"Miss Argo, Miss Ianth was most helpful today, would it be possible for you to use your contacts on her behalf and . . . well . . ."

"Tis not a good idea sa." Argo said quietly and without a hint of the cynical humor she preferred to display. "Here's some free information. Mon-chan . . . you would be better off not saying or asking Ianth anything about her husband. Tis better for both of you that way."

The water mage girl's eyes widened as she caught on and a look of dread overtook her. "He's dead . . . isn't he . . ."

"Tis complicated." Argo sighed and gave their driver a dirty glance, but Wales seemed to be bowing out of this one, leaving her with the difficult task of explaining to Montmorency. "Mon-chan . . . Ianth . . . Ianth tis special sa. People knew who she was even in ALO." That got the mage girl's attention.

Though Argo couldn't say why she had come into existence when almost all of the other NPCs had not. Was it because of her unique status as a «Mob» as well as a scripted NPC? Sometimes the Transition seemed to have acted almost on a whim. Another one of those questions with a useful tidbit of attached information.

"Ianth twas a special sort of NPC called a «Quest Giver». Her Quest was called . . . «Recover the Mermaid's Momento» . . . Its completion required Faeries to retrieve an item from an underwater dungeon." She took a breath. "Twas a gold wedding ring taken from a defeated aquatic boss «Ballas the Mad Angler»." She let those words settle.

"Then he really is dead." The Water Mage said with a dull and empty voice.

Montmorency's expression, Argo had seen it before, so many times since SAO, that unpleasant mix of anger, confusion and hurt when just one emotion didn't express all of the awful feelings twisting around inside and so you just wanted to reject all of them.

"Tis more complicated than that." Argo asserted. "Quests were designed to be played over and over again. Twas just an illusion after all, lots of people would want to complete the quest for its prize. But nobody has ever managed to save Ianth's husband, and nobody has ever found his body either." The scenario had been played out dozens of times with every potential combination of hidden flags that the players could dream up and the result had always been the same with no sign of Ianth's husband, just his wedding ring.

"Tis possible that he is always meant to be dead. Or else . . . Tis possible that he never existed in the first place . . ." If he had, or if he was still alive, wouldn't he have come for Ianth by now? The Nyriads had spread themselves out along the waterways from Orlein's now «Crescent Lake» all the way down to Ragdorian, and from Ianth's own words they communicated with one another. He would have found his way after four months.

Why would the Transition waste energy on a corpse or on a man who didn't exist and didn't need to exist? Beyond a very few hard guidelines and a few more vague ones, the Transition had been unpredictable like that, sometimes fleshing out vast stretches of the world and memories of the Mobs from unused code, game lore, and snatches of flavor text, and sometimes leaving it bare.

Even knowing that, Argo couldn't just make other people believe it, and Montmorency wasn't taking it easily. "No . . . But . . . Ianth . . . She seemed so real . . ." Looking back, she'd seemingly taken an unusual interest in Ianth from the very start, more than just as the Nyriads' spokeswoman.

"She tis real sa." Argo said softly, even as she reluctantly lowered her cloak to look Montmorency full in the face. "Don't forget that, ever! Ianth may never have truly met him in this world, but her love for that person _does_ exist. Should you tell her that he died . . ." Or was it better for Ianth to come to the conclusion that he would not be coming back for herself? She could live on that way, even if it would be painful. " . . . The Pixies haven't reacted well when we try to tell them the Truth." Something about their memories, it upset them, so much so that it had become a courtesy to just not mention it around the tiny girls.

Suisen rested her weight silently against Argo's cheek. Well, present company excluded. The 'Nav' Pixies, for whatever reason, seemed to be exempt from that rule. Maybe it was their lack of «game lore» or maybe because of their close connection to the players and ALO's player menu and inventory system, but Navigation Pixies seemed to be far more aware and accepting of the fact that ALfheim had been a false reality. Or maybe they were just more trusting. Suisen still tended to hang on her every word and accept anything said by her 'Nee-chan' as complete truth.

"But that's . . . it's not fair." Montmorency whispered. "That's not how love should be . . . No . . . Not something fake like that." She looked up. "What if you're wrong? What if he is out there somewhere?!"

"Maybe. Tis always possible that I'm lacking information. The truth is, I hope I'm wrong too." It was something that Argo herself found pretty far from palatable as a matter of fact. "But if you care enough to ask, you should care enough to think really hard before you decide how to proceed. Neither of us has the right to give Ianth false hope sa."

She left Montmorency to her thoughts as their ride swooped in over the coast and drifted back down towards the outpost by the lake shore. Mon-chan could have some time to think about things, it wasn't like she didn't have more than enough on her plate without taking on other people's troubles.

Speaking of other people's troubles, Argo spied with her little eyes, someone who was black haired and someone who was chestnut, and neither of them looked at all happy. Not good. An unhappy Aa-chan and Kii-bou were an Aa-chan and Kii-bou that might do something uncharacteristically stupid.

"Oy, Kirito!" Klein waved as dropped out of the sky, careful this time only to land after Yuuki had made her descent. "Looking good, uhm . . ." The Salamander stopped as both Aincrad's Black Swordsman and the White Flash passed him by without a word, followed closely by Yui, and another little blonde girl unhappily clutching something small and squirming to her chest and making a beeline for Argo herself.

"Hey Aa-chan? Kii-bou?"

"Argo-san." Asuna answered shortly. There was a look in her eyes that set off alarms bells even before Kii-bou spoke.

"There's something we need you to take a look at actually." And now Kii-bou was actually sounding reluctant!

Argo hid the way she looked closely at her friends, trying to snoop out any hint of why they'd seemingly been waiting for her return. Which was probably why she'd missed an important detail until the blonde girl, one of Yui's little friends, was prodded forward by Yui to offer her squirming package, holding the unspeakably bizarre little creature out at arms length while she wrinkled her nose.

"We need all of the information you have on this. Please." Kirito crossed his arms and nodded to the Mob in the Sylph girl's hands. "We also want know every scrap of lore about . . ."

"Titania!" The little ball of warm smoldering coal cocked its broad, flat little head to Asuna and then back to Argo. "Titania! This! Who?"

"This is Argo." Asuna told the little Djinn coldly. Suddenly, Aa-chan's expression softened and she seemed ashamed. "She's a friend, Djinn-san." She said more gently. "You don't have anything to fear from her."

"Argo?" The Djinn chirped in its little high pitched voice. "Friend? Okay! Argo! Friend! Play?"

Argo stared blankly at the ugly little blob, like someone had put together a living creature out of a toad, a plucked chicken, and a lump of coal, with its only beauty in the form of its gem-like eyes. It should have been hideous, but somehow it contrived to be sort of cute, if you tilted your head and squinted . . . a lot.

Kii-bou grimaced in that way that said he really didn't want to deal with this right now.

Asuna just looked away, quietly, angrily.

There was a story to that, and Argo had a feeling she was going to find out as she reached out and accepted the little creature into her hands. Warm and strangely goopy body, like fresh tar. "You know Kii-bou." Argo snarked. "You always bring me the most interesting things sa."


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note - For those who don't already know, this has already been finished. There are four more updates to go. So if you decide you don't like it you can just wait for the main story to start up again. Anything I decide to import into the main story will be commented on in the main story, hopefully with shorter tighter scenes. Hope that's okay.

* * *

Halkegenia Online - Beach Episode - Chapter 5

Kirito sat beside Asuna and squeezed his wife's hand in perfect silence as they looked across the table to Argo. He didn't say a word because at this time, asking things like 'Are you okay?' or 'Are you sure you want to do this?' would be both pointless and totally insulting. He didn't even need Yui to tell him that as she sat on the other side of her mother, squeezing Asuna's opposite hand. As frustrating as it was, Asuna wasn't going to back down from confronting something so unpleasant. All Kritio could do was fight beside her, even if it didn't feel like he was doing nearly enough. And so he remained silent and waited for Argo to finish stalling for time rearranging her notes.

The Charming Siren's Lagoon included several major buildings that had been unsuitable to house guests and instead had been converted to other purposes. One of these re-purposed buildings had become a recreation room of sorts, open to the guests and paying customers who frequented the lake front. It was completely abandoned at this time of day and had been made private by simply reserving it with the staff.

Asuna lost her patience first. "Argo." She not-shouted, short and sharply.

The notes fell to the table as the Cait coughed into her hand. Instead of reading from them, she reached up to her shoulder and tapped Suisen gently atop her mouse eared head. The Navigation Pixie flitted down onto the table on her slender mosquito wings and walked out to the center as calmly as if she was arriving to deliver a speech.

"Suisen sa, tell them everything that we've gathered about Queen Titania."

"One moment please, Nee-chan." Even after her blossoming, Suisen still acted with the mannerisms of a Navigation Pixie when she accessed her impressive memory. After several moments the Pixie opened her eyes again and began to speak. "Nee-chan and the other information brokers have collected the following information about Queen Titania. Four Log Entries, thirteen citations from external publications, twenty seven written entries and textual excerpts, thirty seven quotes from in game flavor script, and one hundred and fifteen quotations from Quest related lore, seventy seven show regular patterns indicative of Cardinal's «Natural Language Generation Engine» while the remainder appear to be either developer derived or refactored by the developers after «Quest Generation» before being committed to ALO's «Quest List»."

Asuna's eyes widened as she sucked in a breath. "So much. But how?"

That was what Kirito wanted to know. Most of the brokers had lost their notes and external documents when the Transition had wiped out the menus. They'd only have . . . his eyes grew fixed on Suisen.

"Tis thanks to Nav Pixies like Suisen sa. Lots of players used their Nav Pixie as an easy way to record Quest info and that data was saved in their memories." Argo confirmed without even needing to be asked. "And thanks to the books and pamphlets left over from the game Lore. There are still a few of those tie in publications lying around in homes and personal libraries. They've been really valuable to us brokers when we deal with ALfheim related issues. The rest are memorable quotes that players managed to recall and that us info brokers have been collecting."

"And Suisen has all of that memorized?" Kirito didn't know which feat impressed him more, Argo and the other brokers bringing all this info together or Suisen dutifully reading it all and committing it to memory.

The Pixie nodded confidently, slapping one hand to her chest and raising the other over her head. "I'm a collaborative resource that anyone can contribute to or edit ba! I don't even need donations chyah!"

Despite themselves, both the Spriggan and the Maeve had to hold back small snorts of laughter. That was probably a good sign, if Asuna could still laugh then she would be okay when this was over.

"Nee-chan, may I proceed?"

Argo glanced to Asuna who took a deep breath and nodded once. "Go ahead." The Cait Syth said.

"Titania, Queen Titania, Wife of Fairy King Oberon, and Queen of ALfheim is a recurring character in ALfheim's lore and companion literature." Suisen began, voice assuming a toneless and bland inflection as she read from her memory. "She is described with the following epithets: Mother of the Sylphs, Mother of the Puca, Mother of the Beast Tamers, Mother of the Spriggans, Mother of Mermaids, Verdant of the Forests, the Fair, the Kind . . . "

"Enough." Asuna raised one hand to stop the recitation and the other to rub at the bridge of her nose.

"Mama?" Yui looked up with worry in her eyes.

"It's alright Yui-chan." Asuna insisted gently. Returning her attention to Argo, she wrinkled her nose and asked with disgust. "So that man wrote down all of his fantasies and bared them to the world like that, did he?"

Kirito felt a rare flaring of his own temper, and an even rarer stirring of genuine loathing and hatred that not even Kayaba Akihiko had been able to incite from him. Asuna had never told him everything about her time as Sugou's prisoner, but she had told him enough, and he suspected she would tell him more as time went by and she felt ready. Yui had told him that no matter what happened, he needed to keep a cool head and let Asuna parcel out her ordeal however she felt was right. But the pieces he could put together were bad enough.

"Playing devil's advocate here, but a lot of this twas probably just flavor text thrown in by the Game Devs when they were world building." Argo placed two fingers on the surface of the polished table and made circles with her fingertips. "Aa-chan, you may not realize this, but lots of games have very rich background lore created to support people who get into the role playing element. Aincrad wasn't very strong in that regard because . . . Well, because it didn't _have_ to be." Kayaba had come up with something far more compelling than any story to inspire the SAO players to act out his fantasy world. "Even so, Aincrad still had story elements that went beyond the individual quests sa. Reading into this sort of Lore is how us info brokers picked up hints about hidden quests in SAO."

Kirito didn't miss the unmistakable _look_ that Argo gave him. Closing his own eyes, the Spriggan recalled a desperate rumor he had once asked her to track down.

"Some clues could be taken by themselves, but others needed grounding in Aincrad's own story to understand the references. Titania's lore would have been to help establish a character and derive guidelines for companion quests sa. There were just lots of references to her because before ALO's release she was probably meant to be a very central figure, her and King Oberon. If the «Grand Quest» had been designed to be beaten they would have at very least become prominent NPCs and Quest Givers or even GM avatars to administer special events sa. Aa-chan," Argo reached out with her hand palm up. "Try to remember that and don't take any of this personally, it _isn't_ you."

There was simply a nod and a small "_Un_."

Suisen was allowed to continue her speech where she had left off. "Oberon and Titania were central figures to ALfheim lore beginning in v1.0 where they were first depicted as the creators of the Faerie races and originators of the «Grand Quest». Additional lore did not appear until the implementation of Wild Pixies and the «humanoid» type mobs in the v2.0 updates where it was revealed that Titania and Oberon created the nine Faerie races from the Pixies and created the «Grand Quest» for the factions to prove their worthiness to ascend to the status of ALFs. The v3.0 update added lore for the «humanoid» mobs which depicted them as failed attempts to raise wild beasts and Pixies to become subjects of the Faerie King and Queen. The Orcs, Lizardmen, Dark Dwarves, Nyriads, and Barbarians were all of the «Wild Beast» class while the Cu Sidhe, Sionnach Sidhe, and Coinen Sidhe were predecessors to the Cait Syth."

Argo's ears twitched when Suisen mentioned her own faction and its origin. She was probably remembering her own run in with her more «Primal» side when her life had been on the line.

"Then what about the Djinn?" Asuna asked, her eyes softened. "And the Pixies. Looking back, some of Yui-chan's friends claimed to recognize me once. Does any of the lore explain why?"

Suisen closed her eyes again as she parsed the question and searched her memory. "Continuing from Epithets, one of Titania's epithets was «Friend of the Djinn», flavor text relating to this is that she pleaded for three days and nights with King Oberon to spare the «Desert Zone» and its inhabitants who he wanted to erase to benefit his chosen Faction, the «Salamanders». King Oberon generously heard his wife's words and granted her request."

"The Pixies are a similar story. Titania supplicated herself before her King and offered herself to her husband after a long period of defiance if he would only spare the small lives he intended to destroy by using his power to Master Yggdrasil-sama. Titania's sacrifice earned her the title «Guardian of the Small Lives»." Suisen paused to look up at Asuna, very definitely wearing her own expression and speaking directly to the Maeve as the two faced each other. "These two stories were changed from earlier version lore some time prior to the Transition."

"Oh?" Was all Asuna said.

"Originally Titania proved the worth of the Djinn by helping them foil Oberon's plans for their home and even fighting her husband directly in battle. For this she was given the Epithet «The Desert Queen». She also saved the Pixies by hiding the small lives and the Seeds of their Gardens beneath her wings and within the sleeves of her gown for which she earned the Epithet «Blessed by Yggdrasil». Both of these titles were stricken from the official Lore when Oberon was retconned as the Supreme Master of the World Tree as part of a larger effort to marginalize Titania's role."

"Marginalize." Asuna repeated under her breath.

"Oberon was rewritten to take on a much more prominent role starting with the v3.0 story fluff. At the same time as the Jotunheim expansion released in v4.0, Titania's position in background fluff was relegated from an active participant who variously supported and opposed her husband to a passive and subservient role." Suisen went on. "Elements hinting at several Titania related Quest threads were also partly expunged from the game despite their popularity with Questing Guilds. There was no official statement from RETCO on why these changes were being made, but some rumors from developers were that corporate authorities were taking the game story in a «Different Direction» ba."

"Different direction." Asuna closed her eyes. "And that direction would be?"

"If I had to say, they were taking a pretty cool Yamato Nadeshiko character and turning her into a useless Princess." Argo shrugged. "It's a pretty common disease in the gaming industry to marginalize strong female characters. Even the Americans do it." It went without saying just who had probably ordered that 'different direction', Kirito thought. "It was probably for the completion of the «Grand Quest»." Argo tapped her nails against the tabletop. "Even if it twas designed to be unbeatable, one day the Quest would have to be completed or RETCO would have been in for a huge scandal sa."

"From what you and Kii-bou have told me, it sounds like your captor was using ALO's servers and traffic to mask your Nerve Gear's connection and conduct his research in the background. Branching off a separate world instance would have been picked up in routine server maintenance and eventually someone would have asked or looked closer at the traffic, so he did something just as good by locking the World Tree's gate nya."

In fact, Kirito thought, Sugou could have simply created a geographically impossible lab location, such as underground or off the edge of ALO's «World Map». If he'd done that much, the Spriggan knew darkly that he would never have been able to reach Asuna or even have discovered her whereabouts. He would have been left hopelessly in the dark until one day, Asuna would have woken up from her long sleep and . . . she wouldn't have been herself anymore . . . Kirito's pulse trembled.

The Spriggan felt the pressure around his hand growing and realized its source. Asuna didn't say a word, but she nodded when he began to relax his grip and then laced her fingers with his as if to say silently that it was 'Okay'.

"Sugou, when he came to mock me, he told me that his research was reaching its final stages." Asuna said quietly. "_That man_ could never hold back when he thought he didn't have to. I guess then that he would have taken steps to erase all of the evidence. Not just my memories."

"Once the «Grand Quest» implementation was completed, it would be as easy as adjusting the spawn rates of the Guardian Knights to make them defeatable." Yui reported, even her normally exuberant mood put temporarily on hold beneath the clouds of her mother's melancholy. "Since the Factions were working hard to strengthen their clearing parties, it's possible that nobody would even notice. Even if they did, it would just be assumed it was a normal rebalance."

"Right." Argo's ears sank as she cast her eyes across the mostly empty rec room. Outside the window, Klein and Caramella had taken up positions by the door to make absolutely sure nobody interrupted them. "Aa-chan . . . I'm . . ."

"Don't." Asuna cut her friend off before she could say another word. "Argo, you and Kirito, and everyone else, you all did more than I ever could have asked of you. I am truly grateful for everything you have done. Sugou was my problem, not someone that anyone else burdened me with." The Maeve's expression softened. "Therefore, anything that he schemed is something I will also carry the burden of."

"Well anyways . . ." Argo grimaced as she started again. "The viral pre-release for the v5.0 update pack included a fair bit of concept art, including a depiction of King Oberon granting the power of «Unlimited Flight» to one of the Faerie Factions. A veiled character at his side made a splash as possibly being the rumored Queen Titania. Twas hinted at the time that the Characters would be portrayed by RETCO employees for the special event and . . . well . . . RETCO has had a policy of them being _very_ in character in the past."

"I see." Asuna heaved a heavy sigh. Kirito wasn't sure exactly what was happening behind her eyes, but he could take a good guess. He was worried he'd be right.

"In any case, that man is beyond my reach now." Asuna concluded forcefully as she looked up and met Argo's eyes. "If I have to live with these reminders then I'll just have to deal with it, even if it is unpleasant. But I took my wings for myself, I'll just have to give this a meaning of my own as well. Mostly, what I want to know now is how this lore might affect me going forward."

"Un." Argo nodded. "The Game Lore means a lot to the intelligent mobs. If you come across them, tis better that you know what to expect sa. Well, obviously, the Djinn were on good terms with Titania and so were the Pixies. Although the official lore had been changed, the changes weren't fully implemented in either group's background lore. So it may be that they still remember things differently."

Argo crossed her arms. "As for the other factions. Well obviously, Titania was originally a Trickster and fierce guardian of nature, so she was the patron of the Undines, Cait Syth, Spriggans, and Puca who were granted their status as Faeries by her. The Sylphs got special treatment as a faction loved by both Titania _and_ Oberon. Meanwhile Oberon was patron to the Salamanders, Gnomes, Leprechauns, and Imps. Tis a pattern that I shall not remark upon. Not that it matters now."

Kirito, Asuna, and Yui all nodded together. Obviously it might have meant something if player race NPCs still existed, but Kirito seriously doubted there was anyone among the Faerie factions who would call Asuna «Queen Titania» anytime soon, and if they did, they'd deserve the punch in the stomach they'd get for trying.

"The Sionnach Sidhe call Titania their patron, but the Bushy Tails were funny about that even in their Game Quests. They were pretty screwy even before this Real World turned them into a bunch of irreverent kleptomaniacs." Argo snickered. "So if they ever show themselves, and if they recognized you, they might just decide to pick your pocket for the challenge."

Wonderful, like they needed more thieves in the streets. Kirito scowled as he recalled a run in not long ago with a Cait who had tried to use some sleight of hand on him and messed up . . . and who on second thought might not have been a Cait . . . Damn . . .

"The Coinen Sidhe are likelier to be lukewarm." Argo continued. "They feel that they were cursed to never become mighty warriors after Titania conferred her blessing on the Cait Syth instead of them. In fact, if they think you're Titania, they might hate you even more than they hate _us_." Argo pointed to herself. "The latest news in the Paper is that the Coinen elders demanded the Cait delegates be sent away rather than speaking with them."

"And that's not a problem to the Sionnach Sidhe?" Asuna mused aloud. "I would rather think they would be displeased at Titania as well, without wings of their own."

"The Sionnach probably think it's a fair trade." Argo answered. "After all, they don't need to do any of those pesky things like run a city like us Faeries. At least that's probably something they'd say if we could pin them down nyah."

"The Cu Sidhe probably wouldn't care, even if they recognized you." Argo stopped for a moment, eyes boring through the table. "If the news from the other brokers tis the Truth, then the Cu have lots of problems of there own now. The Faerie Lords were hoping they could appease them at first, but it may not be possible."

"The Lizardmen, Barbarians, and Orcs probably won't be any more or less aggressive. They were designed to be dangerous, intelligent monsters and haven't received much development. The Dark Dwarves would definitely hate Titania's guts since she and Oberon are the ones who drove them underground in the first place. The various animated armors would probably depend on their purposes. Some of them aren't even aggressive to normal Faeries. And then there are the bosses . . ."

All three Kirigayas perked up. If there were any intelligent mobs likely to have a connection to Titania it would be the various boss monsters that would have been the centerpieces of various quests. And given the power embodied in some of those bosses . . . Kirito could see the look in Asuna's eyes, they both nodded.

"Well, it's hard to say." Argo admitted with a small apologetic noise. She'd picked Suisen off the table and began to pat the Nav Pixie atop the head as she went on. "ALO wasn't a PvE game per se, its main component was PvP, but after four version updates and with Cardinal's help, it had quite the collection of bosses roaming around or guarding dungeons as parts of quests and special events. Each of them usually received a paragraph or two of back story and some fluff text. There's really too many to guess. At least the intelligent ones might recognize Titania. But tis all just speculation sa . . ."

"Nee-chan!" Suisen called for everyone's attention. "Nee-chan, what about the «Border Guards» chya?"

"She means the «Invincible» Guardian Bosses that served as «Gate Keepers» in ALO." Argo elaborated for Asuna's benefit. "Aincrad didn't need anything so elaborate because its «World Boundary» twas naturally lethal. But since ALO's full dive immersion supported swimming, the ocean border of the «Game World» needed some way to keep players from traveling too far. The developers decided to do something more interesting than a simple «Barrier». That was the job of the «Border Guards»."

"«Aethon the Fire Winged». «Gamayun the Oracle». «Jormungand the World Serpent». «Kalavinka and Kinnara the Songstresses». «Kerberus the Arch Guardian». «Leviathan the Deep One». «Octavia the Abyssal Queen». «Scylla the Deathly Embrace». «Solomon the Elemental Lord»." Suisen recited from memory. "Special Bosses with the purpose of restricting the players from traveling where they should not go, in air, in the sea, or underground ba."

"Kerberus the Arch Guardian . . ." Kirito assumed a meditative pose. Where had he heard that name before?

"Papa!" Yui called out, his daughter suddenly unspeakably anxious. "Kerberus is the boss you killed in the North when I . . . well . . . when we . . ." Was Yui blushing? It was such an unusual thing to see Yui embarrassed by anything. She was usually a very confident child.

"So it really was one of ALO's «Gate Keeper» Bosses." Kirito mused about that for a moment. "So they're not invincible anymore?" Just damn tough!

"Probably not sa." Argo raised her hands to hold back any questions. "But they're still extremely powerful, and Kerberus was even said to be the easiest to survive. Anyway Suisen still has a point to make." The Cait nudged her Pixie partner to prompt her to continue.

"Un. The lore for the Guardians is that they each have a special connection to Titania ba. They are each ancient creatures who have been granted their power in some way by the Faerie Queen. There's more info about this, but Nee-chan and I haven't had a chance to look it over yet chya."

"So they were Servants of Titania?" Asuna said thoughtfully. Kirito really hoped she wasn't thinking what he thought she was thinking.

"Servant might be too strong a word sa." Argo's tail curled and rolled behind her. "Tis better to have called them _pets_ that Titania-sama was supposed to be fond of."

"But they should be loyal to Titania then, shouldn't they?" Asuna insisted on getting at the dangerous kernel of information that Argo was growing reluctant to answer.

Kirito shook his head. "Asuna, if you want to test that theory by getting their attention, the answer is denied! Those are some dangerous _pets_." Even if it all worked out, there was no way the Arrun City Council would let Asuna keep them.

"I suppose you're right." Asuna admitted with a wistful look that convinced Kirito that she was still idly entertaining the idea.

"Of course, tis all just speculation sa." Argo leaned back and stretched her arms high over her head. "Though if you want to test it out a little . . . well . . . I could ask the Nyriads when we go see them again tomorrow."

"The Nyriads?" Asuna nodded. "The Mermaids that you spoke with today?"

"Un." Argo's eyes shimmered with a small hope that she could be of help. "They're counted in the intelligent mobs. Like Suisen said, Titania was called «The Mother of Mermaids» so they might know something about her. I can send messages to the other brokers to ask after Coinen Sidhe and Pixies as well. At least then we'll know how they really feel sa."

Asuna bowed her head, silently meditating on Argo's offer. Even though Kirito knew he just needed to give it time, it felt like it was entirely too long before Asuna looked back up. And when she spoke, he didn't know if he liked what she said.

"Un. But if that's the case. If they respond positively, I want to meet them afterwards."

"Asuna!" Kirito half rose from his seat and was promptly silenced as Asuna shot up after him, planting her palms flat on the table.

"That's the way it's going to be." Asuna declared in a voice that Kirito knew meant the decision had already been made. "The Nyriads are aquatic mobs, and I have my «Indefinite Flight» ability, so I can't be trapped out on the Lake no matter how far out we are. Kirito-kun, I want to find out for myself."

"If Aa-chan wants it, then I don't think we have much of a choice, Kii-bou." Argo threw her hands up and snickered. "You should know that by now sa."

And he did, which was the problem. So much for a peaceful vacation. His hopes for a restful time at the beach were now completely shattered. Though if the Nyriads turned out to be safe, maybe they could go take Yui to see them as an excursion.

"Listen, I need to go write up a report about this for the Faerie Lords now." Argo stood up and brushed out the wrinkles in her pants legs. "They'll probably want to hear from you too, Aa-chan. But if I send it to Morgi-chan in Gaddan first then there shouldn't be any trouble waiting until your vacation is over. In the meantime, I'll try to dig up some more answers."

"Un." Asuna bowed and Yui dutifully followed suit beside her mother. "Thank you again Argo."

"Don't mention it sa." Argo grinned. "Besides, Henrietta-sama pays to keep me on retainer. Tis my job to help the Knights."

Klein and Caramella had perked up when the party had emerged back out into the later afternoon sun. Both Knights gave the young Faerie couple the same worried look until Asuna smiled to let them know it was alright. Was it really alright? Kirito wondered as he followed at his wife's side. No matter how many times Asuna said she could accept this burden, that didn't mean _he_ had to accept it.

'But she'd probably be angry if I tried to say something like that.' The Spriggan thought as they made their way along the sand of the beach. "Kirito-kun . . ." Asuna began and then stopped, shook her head, and changed the subject. "The Lily Wing Fish are supposed to be really pretty. They breach off the lake right when the sun starts to set. Do you think we'll be able to see them, Kirito-kun?"

"Un . . ." Kirito said softly. "That would be nice." And just like that they had some tenuous feeling of normalcy, almost, as they walked hand in hand along the beach. _Almost_, especially at the sight of a pair of Sylph youths bickering under the watchful eyes of their uncle. The source of the bickering, as it so happened, was the source of all of this trouble.

Balandene, the Sylph Balandene, sister of the Sylph Halberdier 'Bardiche' was presently talking shortly with her brother and pointing irritably to the small creature hopping excitedly about her feet. The Djinn chirped happily as he puffed flames and dove into the beach sand, emerging as a meter long «Sand Serpent» before quickly bursting up into the air in his preferred form as a small, flaming bird, and then dropping back down to the ground again, flapping his stubby arms eagerly.

"Ugh . . . Why do I have to take care of this thing?!" Balandene cried, pointing at the Djinn in the midst of attempting to get her attention. "Uncle!"

"Easy now Kazu!" The Salamander tank Carmond laughed at his niece's discomfort. "It's an important task for Asuna and Kirito-san. That little guy is the only one who was willing to come with us and we might need to ask him some questions."

Balandene's brother didn't look to be helping matters. "Come on Sis, he likes you."

The Sylph girl wrinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue. "But he's so annoying, and he's going to singe my clothes, and all he can say is . . ."

"Ban-chan! Ban-chan! Angry? Angry! Why?"

Balandene started to flap her arms up and down so hard she looked like she could take flight without her wings. "I'm not angry! I just don't want to have to deal with a weird thing like you! Why don't you go play with Yui instead!"

"Ban-chan? Like? No?"

"No!" Balandene crossed her arms as she turned up her nose at the tiny Elemental Mob. "I _don't_!"

"Kazu!" Carmond went racing off after his storming niece, giving Kirito and Asuna a small nod before being on his way. In the hurry, neither of them had noticed the Djinn still standing where Balandene had left him. The lumpy little creature had gone still, its head tilted slightly and looking maybe a little more shapeless now than it had back in the Caverns of Gaddan.

"Ban-chan? Kazu? Like . . . No?" It tilted its head the other way. "Like? No?" Somehow, that chirping happy voice managed to sound dejected as the Djinn gave off a small puff of smoke and seemed to deflate like a beach ball.

Yui, naturally, was the first to respond, running to pick up the oddly ugly and strangely 'cute' creature and cuddling it close to her chest. "It's okay Djinn-kun! Ban-chan is just really cranky sometimes. She'll warm up to you once she sees your better points! You just have to do something to make a positive impression. You know how to do that, right?"

The Djinn didn't answer with its single word sentences, instead, it simply began to tremble and purr in Yui's hands, oozing down until it perfectly filled its little nesting place. Asuna stood off a ways for a time, watching silently. It was true that the Djinn had been the ones to bear the bad news, but it was also true that Asuna had tried not to let that change anything. Then she smiled as she walked out to be with Yui and her new friend.

The Djinn perked up when he saw her. "Titania? Titania! Like? Like? Yes?"

Asuna kneeled down beside Yui, still smiling, she nodded. "Of course Djinn-kun, I like you."

"Yui? Like?"

"Un!" Yui nodded fervently. "Let's be friends, okay?"

"Yui? Friend? Okay!"

"Yui. Friend. Titania. Friend!"

Asuna carefully pulled aside a loose strand of hair. She reached out and gently stroked the top of the Elemental's head, causing it to purr, and the sullen glow beneath its chalky black scales warmed to a more merry red. "But Djinn-kun, would you be nice enough, if it's not too much trouble, could you call me Asuna for now on?"

"Titania?" The Djinn tilted its head, gemstone eyes cocking side to side as it parsed the request. "Titania. Asuna?"

"Un?" The Maeve nodded again. "Can you do that for me?"

There was a moment of silence as the Djinn seemed to parse the question. "Titania. Asuna. Okay! Asuna! Like! Like! Asuna!"

Yui and Asuna looked to one another and then both laughed together. That was how Kirito knew it was going to be okay. "But _why_ do you like me, Djinn-kun?"

The Djinn was quiet again for what seemed like a much longer time. And then its answer came all at once. "Asuna. Asuna! Help! Help. Djinn. Djinn! We! Fight! We! We! Fight! Oberon! We! Fight! Oberon! We! Win! Desert! Safe! Asuna! Asuna? Right?"

Asuna had gone speechless, as had Kirito. But she'd always been stronger than him as she looked back up with a genuine and tearful look in her eyes. "Un. Djinn-kun. That's exactly right. We won."

* * *

_In the deepness and in the dark, she waited, and she listened. The deep waters were pitch black, sightless and still, but not silent. The Sea had ears, and in the end, they all reported to her. The happenings of the deep and the happenings of the shallows, the happenings of the reefs, and the happenings of the shores. All which her domain touched, she came to know in good time._

_And so she waited, and listened, and as she waited and she listened, she slumbered. Great form, still as death, buried in a soft bed of fine sands that stirred and settled faintly, unmoved by the ghosts of currents which caressed and lulled her in deep dreams. Until at last there came a whisper in the dark and still. Less than a whisper. A whisper of a whisper. A tiny thing that was brought to her as no more than a rumor._

_And yet, no sooner did this whisper reach her then she began to stir._

_-Thump . . . . . thuh . . . . . thump- Finned ears twitched._

_A noise as soft as a sea breeze and yet it carried like a whale's song._

_-Thump . . . . thuh . . . . thump- A ripple across the blanket of sand, the first faint movements of vast aquatic wings, gifts of slender grace._

_There had been an intrusion. She was told. Within the last day, Shades had struck out far over her domain from the Northern Shores. Such insolence!_

_-Thump . . . thuh . . . thump-_

_She should have punished them at once as she had all of the others in the past, if only they dared to transgress into her domain._

_-Thump . . thuh . . thump- Sand rose and fell in great drifts as she revealed herself in all of her regal splendor. A scaled and plated skin of mithril, and a great brass and crystal helm from which streamed a mane like the moon's silver._

_But they had not taken to the waters as she had come to expect, treasure lusting salvagers doomed by their greed, and foolhardy explorers setting course for the end of the world and meeting their own end long before their destination. All were put to death for entering her Domain, all were slain without mercy for insulting this realm's supreme ruler._

_-Thump . Thuh . Thump- In the shadows, eyes opened, deep, ruby red eyes borne in a pale face of sculpture and wreathed in a crown of bone and exquisite sea stones._

_Instead the interlopers had skimmed the seas. Shades and . . . the strange 'Others' that had infested the shores of this small sliver of her domain._

_-Thump Thuh Thump- The source of her power awakened from its own slumber, a faint trickle of true might suffusing and reinvigorating her impossible body as hands planted on the lake floor and great back arched with a creak of mithril laced bone. Then, with an eruption of sand and a tail-bat, she began to rise._

_They had rested for a time upon an island near the middle of this 'provincial' county, clumsily crawling about its surface, or on occasion fluttering on their clipped wings and then departing again before too long with the strange creatures that could neither swim the seas nor fly the skies. Pitiful Shades. Why had they come here?_

_The land had changed, which did not concern her, and the Sea with it, which did. The vastness of her domain had opened and she had spent the passing of moons and no small effort in renewing her territories and bringing her subjects into line, yes, even this provincial expanse._

_In fact, she was told, this news had reached her by way of a lesser Shade of the water, one who she had spared on a whim from his fate and who in return had displayed to her proper loyalty and worship. He had reported that the little thorn, Ianth of the Nyriads, had spoken to them but reported nothing of it, always so defiant that one, defiance born of weakness, but never so defiant to draw wrath down upon her own head._

_One day, that Nyriad would make a mockery within casual reach, she thought. On that day, Ianth's insignificance would not save her . . . But that was a matter for another time._

_For now, it was the shades of the sky that concerned her, them and their allies, and their designs upon her territories. Her subjects had reported all that they had learned. They had followed from the waters until the shades had returned to shore, locating their camp upon the edge of her territory._

_A stronghold? Did they prepare for war? They could come if they pleased, it would not matter if it were a hundred or a thousand if they entered the absolute sovereignty of her territory. Still, her subjects had done well to warn her._

_Her eyes were well adjusted to the darkness of the deeps, as she ascended to the ceiling of her domain, the gentle press of the depths fading, she could see the shimmering of the boundary growing closer by the moment, a vast void to her «Sound Sight». She felt the stirring of the currents, the tingle across her flanks at the near passage of countless lesser lives, their «Life Flickers» calling out to her. None of them interested her now._

_When she breached, she did so gently, cautious of the blinding light, dorsal fin and plated shoulders slipping above the water's surface, silver hair and mithril scale mail glistening as she gave a slow, lazy, tail slap, and then ballasted herself just beneath the waves._

_The light of the late noon sky stained the roof of her world like fire and painted the ceiling of 'this' world in hues of orange and violet. She was oblivious to this beauty as she cast her gaze to the shore, not far afield now, towards the hive of Fire Shades that lived atop their mound like the insects of a near forgotten garden. 'That' had not changed, even as most everything else did._

_She had investigated there before by, but only once. Bothersome creatures these Shades, speaking nonsense and passing it as truth, and expecting her to know their foolish words and customs. She had learned nothing of value in the course of a day and had journeyed back fruitlessly. Since then, her subjects had brought her news of only more nonsense. But now she would see for herself what it was the Shades were plotting._

_She would see for herself across the stretch of water as her eyes adjusted to the blurred distance. Her «Sound Sight» told her that the shore was near a half kilometer off, but that was no trouble when at last the light ceased to blind her and she focused her vision through the crystal prism of her helm._

_She saw . . . The beaches and the dunes, the borders of her territory. She saw shades, of all different kinds, a strangeness that she had found atop their mound home as well. She saw their nests of mud and stone baking in the desiccating heat of the late day. She saw them in their numbers, crawling across the land with their graceless limbs, creatures of the skies acting more like insects of the mud. And she saw them walking along the boundary of her territory from time to time splashing in the surf, bothersome, but their small encroachments not worthy of her attention._

_Now here, a small Shade, dark haired and fair running out to the bend in her legs and sinking down to scoop up water and throw it like mud at another little flaxen haired Shade. And behind them, two greater shades. One dark haired, and pale skinned, a relation of the first one, and . . . she saw . . ._

_-Thuh thuh thump-_

_-Thuhthuh thump-_

_-Thuhthuhthump-_

_She saw . . . what she saw . . . she SAW! Despite herself, a rumble came, and then the hiss of a blow as she sprayed stale air and lake mist from the base of her neck. A geyser that erupted like the sudden bursting forth of her rage._

_-Thuhthuhthump-_

_She saw . . . _

_-Thuhthuhthump Thuhthuhthump-_

_She saw . . . chestnut hair . . . _

_-Thuhthuhthump Thuhthuhthump Thuhthuhthump-_

_She saw . . . fair skin . . . _

_-Thuhthuhthump Thuhthuhthump Thuhthuhthump Thuhthuhthump-_

_Slender form . . . _

_-Thuhthuhthump Thuhthuhthump Thuhthuhthump Thuhthuhthump Thuhthuhthump-_

_And that face, those eyes, the curve of her lips, and the shape of her nose . . . All just like . . . just LIKE when she had greeted her each day . . . a smile and a welcoming hand outstretched to take her in her palm . . . to lay unafraid in the garden air atop her chest and beneath the cherry trees and the songbirds . . . to listen and to talk . . . To laugh as she was held in a bright center of joy . . . joy which had grown to bitterness all too soon . . . There was no mistaking her. Not now, not EVER._

_-Thuhthuhthumpthuhthuhthumpthuhthuhthumpthuhthuhthumpthuhthuhthump- _

_That WOMAN!_

_The memory drove her to frenzy, like the lowest of her subjects scenting blood, a convulsion that nearly ruptured her splendid mail all down the length of her tail but which incited no more than another tail-slap as she dove to look upon it no more. So long ago that the memories had grown shaded and blurred with time, millennia at least, she thought by now . . . Yes, that was why they were so unclear now . . ._

_When she rose again to watch, she gazed upon the scene and studied it with cold predator's eyes. That Woman . . . and the Shade . . . yes . . . the Shade that bore her on his arm . . . She could sense from here his essence. An exceptional Shade, this one was, nearly the likes of the Maeve herself, a shade of the shadows made in that Woman's own imperfect image, and the little dark hair . . . she realized . . . not a Shade AT ALL!_

_She could almost taste the small one's potential, her likeness to that Woman was near perfect. No mere Shade._

_So . . . Her barren love had born a child at last? Or . . . no . . . Eyes focusing, focusing closer and closer upon that Woman and her partner . . . her Beau._

_That look, that curve of lips, she had almost forgotten, it meant . . . happiness . . . comfort . . . peace . . ._

_Why?_

_She digested this fact, cold as the deepest extent of her realm, and about as hospitable. She tasted how it felt, and her jaws parted along lines of lips to display her hundreds of needle teeth. And then the gap closed again, sealed behind a beautiful patrician's mask._

_No . . . On second thought . . . this was good . . . for she could taste it as easily now as she could sense the child's nature. _

_'You are mortal now Titania . . .' She thought, oh yes. No trace of her divinity lingered upon the fallen Maeve. This world truly had changed. ' . . . But I am still a Queen.'_

_And she would punish one who so arrogantly transgressed upon her Queendom._

_She gave the Woman and her Beau a last look, the man who had stolen the heart of a Faerie Queen, not so difficult a task, pitiful as that Woman was. But now, she knew how to start, as the Queen drew deeply upon the font of her power, and gave shape to her will._

* * *

It was dark now, and the stars shone in the sky like diamond dust, much brighter than in that other world with its «Light Pollution». The last heat of the sun had faded a while ago, but the evening breeze hadn't quite picked up yet. The air inside the guestroom was unmistakable muggy as Kirigaya Kazuto, the Spriggan Knight Kirito, sat straddling the windowsill beside his futon, one foot on the floor while the other hung out into the empty air. He leaned back against the window frame and crossed his arms.

It was getting late, most of his friends were already in bed. Kirito himself had already changed into his own sleep clothes and was beginning to feel ready to turn in. Even though it was still a couple of hours until midnight, he felt indescribably tired. So much for a nice, restful break, the Spriggan thought. Their precious vacation was half over and he was already regretting it.

'We should have just stayed in Arrun.' Arrun Lake might not have had beautiful sandy beaches or the same crystal clear waters as Ragdorian, but it would have been relaxing, and it would have been intimate. Mostly, it wouldn't have led to _this_. Kirito's eyes fell on the still huddle of blankets beside his own futon.

Throwing his leg over the window, Kirito climbed up and softly padded over to kneel down beside Asuna. Despite the heat, the Maeve girl had curled greedily around a pillow while cocooning herself in a nest of blankets. While Kirito watched, she somehow managed to hug her pillow even tighter and bury her face even deeper in the pile of bedding.

'She's so clingy when she's like this. Jeez, and she says _I_ look like a little kid when I'm sleeping.' The Spriggan sighed as he reached down and tugged the blankets closed around his wife's slender shoulders. She was going to get all sweaty like that, but if it let her rest easy he wasn't going to stop her. Better that she get a good night's sleep than lay awake worrying . . . Like he was . . .

'That's because she's tougher than me.' The Spriggan thought. He had to remember sometimes that the people around him weren't fragile just because he worried about them.

Learning about «Titania», Asuna had every reason to be upset. That Lore, etched into the world of ALO, was like finding an ugly memento of Nobuyuki Sugou where they had least expected it. But giving in to that man in any way was something that Asuna would never do. She had decided for herself that she would not be ruled by what Argo had told them and would do everything to prove it.

They'd spent that afternoon together with their friends, they'd watched the «Lily Wing Fish» dancing out in the fire of the setting sun, and then they'd enjoyed dinner without a single word about Titania. Asuna had even been friendly to the little Djinn who had followed them from Gaddan, still mysteriously fascinated by Yui's little friend. 'Djinn-kun' presently sat cuddled up in his own nest of blankets between Yui and Balandene like a little lump of living tar that smoldered faintly in the dark as it continued to expand and deflate with little noises of content.

'Djinn-kun has it figured out.'

So why didn't he feel that way? Kirito wondered.

Something about this was making him uneasy, and he worried that that something would turn out to be a lot of somethings. The talk with Argo hadn't brought him much closure. The mobs were part of it, they could speculate, but they wouldn't know how the other denizens of ALfheim felt about 'Titania' until they could find them and ask. They'd gotten lucky that the Djinn were friendly. What other «Flags» might be left over from ALO's «Game World» and code? Any way he looked at it, it was bad. Asuna shouldn't have to be burdened by those questions all alone, so here he was keeping himself up at night thinking about it, and getting restless.

'Right.' Kissing Asuna lightly on the forehead, he rose back up silently. He needed some air if he wanted to clear his head.

Picking his way silently through the sleeping Faeries. Silica and Yuuki cuddled on opposite sides of Miss Shiune. Liz lay sprawled in shorts and t-shirt while she was clung to by her drooling 'Master' in a surprisingly traditional sleep yukata worn loose across the shoulders and somehow managing to completely hide that memorable figure. Agil and Eda were situated nearest to the door and opposite to Klein's empty bed.

'So you're still up too?' Kirito wondered. The last he'd seen, the Salamander had been in the middle of another game of cards with Caramella down in the dining room. Which meant he and the Nymph probably hadn't been thrown out just yet.

Kirito's guess turned out to be on the money. When he entered the first floor from the outside patio he was met by the warm glow of Ore-Lamps and the murmur of quiet conversation. Only a handful of the Lagoon's guests were still up, gathered around the smaller tables and at the bar that lined the back wall. The serving staff were split between waiting on the guests and cleaning up for the next day under the watchful eye of their manager.

Kirito squinted as he regarded what he could only think of as a huge and muscle bound middle-aged man attempting to pull off the same look as the far more slender and well-preserved General Gramont and failing hard at it. He seemed to be a good person though, even if he was a little strange, the serving staff always seemed happy to follow his instructions and he was cheerfully attentive to the guests.

'Mister Scarron' was leaning over one of the tables, accepting an order from the small group of Faeries and Halkegenians, the absent Klein and Caramella, Kino, Argo and Prince Wales.

The manager clapped his hands together. "And that will be all, Monsieur? Mademoiselle?"

"Oy, that should do it!" Klein grunted and waved a dark bottle in one hand while holding a hand of playing cards close to his chest with the other.

"_Tres bien_! I shall have your order over shortly. Monsieur, Mademoiselle!" The big man turned with a startlingly dainty pirouette and almost 'pranced' off to the bar.

'What a weird guy.' Kirito thought as he followed the manager with his eyes before his attention was called back to the table by Argo. "Hey, Kii-bou, I thought you'd already turned in for the night." Gold eyes looked him over like the info broker expected to find some secret just by looking at him in his shirt and shorts.

"I was." Kirito said as he took the last unoccupied seat at the table and gave Wales and Argo a look. "But I decided I was just going to toss and turn as it is."

"Upset stomach?" Klein asked in an absent-minded tone before getting ribbed by Caramella. "Oy oy!"

"Anyways . . ." Caramella returned her hands to her own cards on the table " . . . if you want we can deal you in. Kino's kicking both of our asses, maybe you can knock him back down?" She nodded to the third player in their game.

Kino nodded back before hiding himself back behind his hand. Somehow, eyes peering out from behind his cards, the boy managed to look even shadier than usual. "If you're not playing to win, it's not my fault."

"Heh?" The swordswoman tilted her head and then grinned. "You've got some nerve!"

"Thanks for the offer." Kirito answered as he held up his hand. "But I left my wallet upstairs. You guys just keep going without me."

"Well . . ." Klein's brow furrowed. "Suit yourself man."

"You're not playing?" Kirito asked the Prince of Albion.

Wales had an uncanny knack for cards and never seemed to miss a chance to play. He must have been picking them up from the men he commanded at least since the Civil War in Albion had started and maybe played with his brothers and retainers even before that. Learning poker and hanafuda-deck games had come just as easily to him as playing with the traditional Halkegenian 'crown' deck, much to Kirito's grief . . . and Caramella's . . . and Klein's.

Wales gestured back to the Cait Syth at the table. "I find myself engaged with Miss Argo this evening."

Hearing her name prompted Argo to look up from her book again. At first Kirito had thought it was the same leather bound Bestiary that he'd seen trade hands with Klein the day before, but on closer inspection that guess fell apart. The handwriting was wrong, for one, more flowing than Argo's neat print. This looked like something written by one of those people who had seen the calligraphy set advertised at the back of a magazine and not only patiently waited for it to arrive in the mail, but practiced with it tirelessly. Secondly, this book's cover was completely unmarked dark leather.

"Tis another volume I'm collaborating on with the Cait Syths' master tamers and hunters." Argo laid the book flat on the table and smoothed the pages with her hands. "I had it sent by priority courier from Freelia. The ALfheim Cryptozoology Report."

Cryptozoology? Kirito frowned, "Oy, Isn't that a little redundant." Any way he looked at it, this world was jam packed with the impossible. Between ALfheim and Halkegenia, they already had hundreds of mythical creatures, the Faeries themselves for starters, but also dragons, unicorns, pegasus, basilisks, pixies, ambulatory plants, djinn, and many others. It seemed like any impossible beast was likely to have a parallel_somewhere_ in this world.

Argo looked at him silently and pressed her lips into a minuscule little cat frown. "These ones are a little special. They're mobs that we know existed in ALfheim but who we haven't spotted yet in Halkegenia, either because they're rare or maybe because their «Spawn Conditions» weren't met for some reason in the Transition. Things like the «Dungeon Bosses» which might exist but nobody wants to go find out."

"And the «Bushy Tails» ba!" Suisen proclaimed loudly.

"Yeah, and the friggin' Sionnach Sidhe. Good call Suisen." Argo muttered under her breath. Every time that the «Humanoid» type mobs were brought up, the info broker seemed a little bit more irritated, not at all like her usually confident demeanor. There was definitely a story there that Kirito decided to wisely avoid for now. "Anyways, the brokers all agree, we thought twas best that we sketch up some descriptions and gather up as much about their stats and game lore as we could before it starts to get forgotten or mixed up. We can't say what might be useful in the future."

"Now then." Wales leaned over the table, lacing his fingers as he spoke in an almost conspiratorial tone of voice. "Miss Argo is of the opinion, and I happen to agree, that one of these denizens of ALfheim may be involved in happenings within the borders of Ragdorian Lake."

"The Lake Spirit incident right?" Kirito stroked his chin meditatively. Wales just nodded like that was everything. Although they had tried to hide it, that was the real reason for Wales accompanying Montmorency to the lake front, and maybe a much bigger concern than Asuna being mistaken for Titania by some Djinn.

"Is that even possible?" Caramella threw out a question. The Nymph leaned back in her chair. "I thought you said this Lake Spirit was supposed to be pretty much invincible in its element. Bosses are tough, but they aren't that tough, they still have to be beatable."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean it has to be beatable head on." Klein swirled the amber contents of his glass. "A lot of bosses have some trick to beating them. Like the «Geocrawler» back in Aincrad. That thing stalled our advance for a week. Ask Kirito, we couldn't manage to beat it head on."

"There were others too." Argo agreed. "Bosses that needed a special item, or equipment, or a special NPC to be realistically defeated. Tis reasonable to think they would be very powerful in this world." But would they be powerful _enough_ to overwhelm another powerful being? One that had thousands or even millions of years of experience and power? "Our theory goes that the Transition might have dropped an underwater dungeon someplace out in the lake . . ."

"It might have run afoul of the Dungeon's 'Boss'." Wales finished.

"Yeah." Argo agreed as she flipped through pages of bizarre illustrations. "That's the idea. But . . . There's something that the Nyriads told Montmorency that's been sticking with me. I can't say for sure, but I want to look into it." She stopped on a page, heavily marked with notes and attached papers, most of them disclaimers, and dominated by a single profile illustration.

"Hey Prince, Remember what Mon-chan said? I think this might be our best lead." Argo tapped the vague depiction of some sort of creature with many fins, a pair of arms, and a long tail terminating in a broad, whale-like fluke. It was hard to say, but from the outline drawing, the creature looked very sleek, like it would have been incredibly fast in the water.

"Eh?" Caramella looked over and then gently ribbed Klein. "Another mermaid? I mean, like a real one?"

"Don't be fooled by first impressions sa." Argo warned. "This is no mere _field boss_. She's one of ALO's Border Guards and had a reputation for taking on entire raids and spitting them out as «Remain Lights». The Devs were very proud of her and the fact that no players ever found an exploit to defeat her or even did enough damage to trigger «Immortal Object» status. But it's her title more than anything . . ." The gathered Faeries leaned in to read. Klein and Caramella looked between one another and nodded like they were convinced.

"Well . . . At least it's an «Aquatic» type mob. That's something." Klein pointed out as he slapped down a card. "If we stay out of the water, how bad can it be?"

"Probably no problem at all in the realm of day to day affairs." Wales stood up. "But a disaster by any measures for the Montmorency family if this creature or one like it has attacked the Lake Spirit. Now . . . We may need to decide if this is truly the case. Miss Argo?"

"Right. There's really not anything else we can do for now." Argo said. "Turning in, Prince?"

"I think that would be best." Wales agreed. "This is a place to pursue recreation and yet I fear we've all been worn down by our stay. I do apologize, most of all to you, Kirito, and of course, to Asuna."

"Don't mention it." Kirito rose to face the Prince, the two of them standing eye to eye. "Asuna still would have met those Djinn, and we would still have been worrying about what they said to us. I'm just grateful Argo was here so we could put our worries to rest." Not totally, but at least enough to enjoy the rest of their vacation.

"Very well. Then I bid you all a goodnight." Wales was on his way out the door when he spoke again. "Miss Yui?"

Kirito turned his head to see that the doorway really was occupied by his daughter. The little Maeve girl was standing barefoot and with her hands balled up at her sides, blinking in the dim light as she squinted into the room. "Papa?"

"Yui? What are you still doing up?" Kirito grimaced, was it bad dreams? He only hoped it wasn't. Yui had been spared a lot of the difficulties of the other children so far, but anxiety and a vivid imagination never mixed well. Yui's nose twitched, her face scrunched up, and her dark eyes grew watery, and for a moment the Spriggan was worried that his fears would be justified.

"Toilet."

"Huh?"

Yui rubbed at her eye and then took hold of the hem of her nightshirt, flapping her arms lazily in a way that hiked and dropped her top over her sleep shorts. "Have to pee."

The Black Swordsman blinked, Prince Wales blinked, Yui closed her eyes and gave a half awake smile, the Faeries at the table briefly forgot their card game to stare at Kirito.

"She's not supposed to go out on her own." Kirito shook his head. It wasn't that Kirito didn't trust Yui to go to the restroom by herself, but she was a little accident prone at times . . . "Yui, I thought I told you not to drink anything before bed."

"Sweet tea is yummy!" Yui murmured with her dreamy smile and closed eyes.

"I'll take her for you." Caramella spoke up as she folded her hand and stood up from the table. "This game is going pretty slow anyways."

"It's not just because your hand sucks?" Kino asked the girl who was like his adoptive family in this world while he casually rearranged his own cards.

The Nymph tried not to show how she felt, tried and failed. "Why you . . ." She turned and went over to take Yui by the hand. "Come on Yui-chan, let's go get things settled so you can go back to bed."

"Right, thanks Caramella." Kirito sighed. Though maybe he should have done it himself and gone back to bed. Instead he said his goodnights to everyone and parted ways to go walk in the night air.

He'd done this a lot in Aincrad, especially late at night, or more often the early morning after returning to town from a day in the field. In the town «Safe Zones» many of the NPCs were programmed to return to their homes late at night and even the most dedicated players would eventually have to turn in. It was a good time to walk and to be alone with his thoughts.

The lake was sparkling in the moonslight. Two moons made for some spectacular light displays on the surface of the water as they cast trails of silver in paths which crossed. The sounds of water lapping lightly at the shore started to have a pendulum effect, almost hypnotizing as Kirito followed the curve of the lagoon and eventually found himself at the edge of a small pier that stretched out about twenty meters into the former oasis spring.

Here, he'd found a place that was quiet, and cool, and where he could start to sort out what was troubling him. It was a sort of mental exercise as he slowly checked off the things he could change and the things he couldn't, filed them away and stopped worrying about them one by one. Helped along by the sounds of the water, he'd slowly begun to relax when he'd felt the faint tingle of hairs rising on his neck.

It was a sensation that wasn't much use in a crowd, but Faeries with high «Observation» or «Hiding» stats could usually pick out when they were being watched, or at least when they weren't alone. Someone was getting close, and it wasn't hard to guess who with those light footsteps that were causing the pier's planks to creek, or the warm arms that slowly fell around his shoulders as she sank down and embraced him from behind.

"You couldn't sleep . . . " Asuna asked in a voice that was soft and low " . . . _Kirito_-kun?"

'So you're the one who's comforting me again, huh?' She didn't need to and shouldn't have to, Asuna should only have been concerned with her own problems right now. Kirito closed his eyes, and reached up to take his wife's hands in his own, even paler in the moonslight, and squeezed gently.

"What about you?" Kirito asked after a time of silence where they both sat in peace, listening to the lapping of the water together. "Did you get too hot?" Wrapping herself in blankets like that in the middle of summer . . .

"Not really . . ." Asuna answered after another pause. "I just decided . . . I wanted to come find you . . . _Kirito_-kun." The weight of her head resting against the back of his neck was comforting, relaxing in a way that put him at ease, but what was that feeling digging into his shoulders?

"Was Yui back already? Ah sorry . . . I didn't think how it would feel if you woke up and both of us were gone."

"Asuna?"

"Yui?"

"Un . . . I guess she woke up. All of that tea really got to her. She's probably back by now."

"We should probably go back soon." Kirito reasoned drowsily. "Yui will be wondering where we went." And she tended to worry a little bit about other people, and a lot about her Mama and Papa. If she wasn't having bad dreams then they definitely shouldn't do anything to change that. He tried to rise and felt Asuna hold him down, pinning him in place with a gentle press of her weight.

"Not just yet . . . _Kirito_-kun . . . I'd just like to stay like this for a while longer."

"Asu -"

"You're right . . . I was . . . _hot_. It's cool out here, isn't it?"

"Un . . ." Kirito closed his eyes and exhaled.

"The water is nice out here, right?"

"Un."

"And the breeze is pleasant?"

"Yeah." Kirito agreed, opening his eyes to look up at the stars.

"I don't want these . . . _worries_ to come between us right now . . ." Asuna transferred her arms to his waist and rested her chin on his shoulder. At first, the Spriggan was slow to notice, but when he did, the calm that had taken hold of him began to ware away. There was a note in Asuna's voice, a huskiness that he didn't think he'd ever heard her use before and definitely felt out of place now.

"Asuna? Are you alright?" He started to turn his head only to find her arms squeezing tighter and stilling him. "Shh. _Kirito_-kun. You're worrying . . . I want to put those worries to rest . . ." Hot breath tickled his neck. "Put them to rest like _this_."

"Asuna!"

A feeling like an electric shock raced up and down his neck as Kirito snapped back to his senses. Whatever was going through Asuna's head, it was deeply _wrong_. This wasn't how Asuna would act, how _anyone_ would act at a time like this. And when he finally shrugged her off enough to look her in the eyes over the curve of his shoulder, he understood why it was so wrong.

This girl was not Asuna.

But she looked like her, a beautiful reflection shining up from the water and stained by the light of the moon, or a good palette swap in the «Character Editor». Not just pale, but _ghostly_ white skin. Light blue eyes and azure hair that shone just as lustrously as Asuna's own chestnut, spilled down her back. An Undine? Everything else was the same, the shape of her eyes, the profile of her face, the curve of her lips. _Everything _was Asuna's except for that smile as her eyes hung at half mast. How to say . . . It wasn't the smile of a _human_.

A lot went through Kirito's mind in only two or three heartbeats. First was blankness. Next was a sense of alarm followed by very open anger mixing together into betrayal. "You're . . . !" He started as he fought to pull free, half heartedly at first, but then with growing alarm as he realized she was far stronger than she looked.

"Not Titania?" The doppelganger asked. "Or is it Asuna now? Has she been stripped even of her Royal Title then? Well you can rest easy that I am not that feeble woman. But my offer is still open, _Kirito_ of the Spriggans . . ."

Kirito pulled again as the nonsense spouting Undine wrapped herself firmly around his arm. He didn't want to hurt her by throwing her off. But also, where would he grab her to do so? He knew what had been digging into his back now. It had been part of her outfit, some sort of seashell top and a sheer ankle length blue skirt that looked like some sort of eccentric clothing item dreamed up by one of the ALO costume designers to indulge a fetish. Was she some sort of LARPER? No, the rational part of his brain was starting to tug for his attention, something wasn't quite right about that either.

"Uh . . . uhm . . . Excuse me but . . . you see . . . Miss . . . " Kirito flushed as she guided his clasped hand downward, leaning against him so that his shoulder pressed to her breastbone and his hand was made to feel against her inner thigh. "I'm already taken!"

"Oh? That is a shame." The Not-Asuna girl said in that voice that had now become completely husky and enticing. "Let me put you at ease. I assure you that you would find my company and my blessing far preferable to _hers_. In fact, you would be a fool to refuse." Her lips parted to reveal teeth that seemed to grow sharper before his eyes. "I do not care to waste time with _fools_."

Blue eyes flashed with a faint inner light, like lightning through thick clouds, and Kirito knew suddenly that the girl was no ordinary Undine. In fact he eyed the strange hair-piece that rested over her brow like a cute little ivory and gem studded crown, and which seemed to glow faintly within a haze of its own light, that feeling was getting stronger with every second.

"Kirito-kun!" A shout at his back, just to complete the surreal dream, Asuna, the real Asuna, was standing at the far end of the pier, backed up by Klein and Argo, with more of their friends running or coming down on their wings behind them. The three Faeries were illuminated by a bright red glow, something held cupped in Asuna's hands like a flare. That something, Kirito blinked away the brilliant light, had the general shape of a Djinn, but suddenly ignited and transformed into brilliant red and orange flames, all licking and trembling as the suddenly fearsome looking little mob quivered and -_growled_- with pent up aggression.

"Asuna! Dangerous! Dangerous! Asuna! Need! Run! Need! Run!"

"Asuna!" This wasn't what it looked like! Kirito wanted to say, but there was no need. Asuna wasn't angry, not at _him_ anyways.

"I was wondering when you'd get here." Asuna's double purred as Kirito felt a sharp prick at the base of his neck and the sudden sensation of his body quickly going numb. "Tell me, did you come to beg for your Beau?" Before he could fall over, runes encircled his wrists and a cold he could feel even through the numbness shot out as the Faerie magic began to encase his arms in ice.

"Kirito-kun!" Asuna shouted, taking one step forward and then pausing as her double cast her arms over Kirito and smiled victoriously. "Let him go!"

"A command?" Suddenly the Undine girl burst into bone chilling laughter. "How long do you think it has been since I've obeyed _you? Titania!_"

That name. It was enough to knock Asuna back like a body blow. Kirito hadn't paid it much thought the first time because . . . _stupid_ he kicked himself mentally for getting distracted. And now the pieces were coming together, and with them a grim urgency. All the pieces were falling into place. This girl . . . this girl wasn't a Faerie. In fact . . . he realized . . . she'd never even _been_ human.

"I don't know who you are." The Maeve shook her head. Her training and experience began to kick in as Asuna set her legs shoulder width apart and raised her hand. "But if you don't get away from Kirito-kun now, this is going to go badly for you!" Fingers of her outstretched hand spread, Asuna had just started to chant a binding spell when a whisper left the Undine's lips as she mirrored Asuna's motion and reached out with her right hand.

What she brought forth however was no spell, although it had to be some sort of Faerie Magic. It gathered as light in the palm of her hand, but then it began to spread out, taking shape, and dimming until texture and form became clear. Jagged and ivory white backed by a long, pale silver shaft, nearly as long as the girl was tall. A spear of ancient bone and metal. It fell into her grip with sudden weight and she swung the weapon around with an impossible speed and grace for something so unwieldy.

The Undine's head hung low, her hair hiding her eyes as a sinister grin cracked her features. Asuna would never have worn a smile like that or laughed so harshly. "So, you truly do not recall? Titania? Very well . . . " Kirito squinted as the light that seemed to gather around the girl's crown hairpiece began to spread to suffuse her entire body. It was like she was being illuminated in moonlight even as the moons went out. When Kirito looked up, it was impossible to miss the stars winking out as the sky shrank to a point directly overhead and the horizon disappeared behind walls of water in every direction.

"If I am to properly show you your place . . ." The water beneath the pier began to bubble, froth, and flow upward as it became filled with the same moonlight glow that suffused the girl's body ". . . I'LL JUST HAVE TO MAKE YOU REMEMBER ME!"

It hit Kirito like a bad dive, like he'd slammed into the water with his entire body all at once. A raw force that drove the air from his lungs and he was thrown up into the sky, by the time he was able to make sense of what was happening again his perspective was completely transformed. No longer standing on the pier, Kirito found himself suspended five meters in the air as sand erupted in geysers across the beach, each cloud of grit revealing another monstrous «Crustacean» type mob or pale white «Water Dragon» launching an invasion of the beach.

"Asuna!" Kirito began to shout the warning he'd been trying to give before, choking as water turned to ice and began constricting all around him. By now it was too late for him to tell Asuna anything she didn't already know as the Faeries on the beach craned their heads upward.

A giant form glittered in the weak light, its entire body clad in pale silver from the regal crest of its helm to the end of its mail covered tail. That armor was sleek and streamlined, unblemished, and like the fins that protruded from its waist and from its back like short Faerie Wings, gave it a distinctive profile. It was the _exact_profile from Argo's book. Only the illustration had forgotten something in depicting this unmistakable «Boss». She was the size of a _whale_.

"Kirito, hang on Kirito!" Asuna's voice drew Kirito's attention back to the Maeve girl, still standing completely fearless and undeterred by the behemoth in front of her.

"Oy oy! Argo!" Klein shouted to the information broker. "This is some bad info! You call that a _mermaid?!"_

"She tis a Mermaid!" The information broker screeched at the edge of Kirito's hearing as the cold began to dull his senses. "That's Octavia the _Abyssal Queen!"_


	6. Chapter 6

Halkegenia Online - Beach Episode - Chapter 6

It happened so fast that Klein was still trying to figure out just _what_ it was that had happened. Five minutes ago he'd been just about ready to turn his losing streak around with a totally awesome hand that would have blown straw-hair away completely. That was right before Asuna had come bursting through the door of the dining hall, a sleep walking Leafa and Agil hot on her tail, and a fistful of fire perched on her shoulder and squeaking "Danger!" at the top of its tiny lungs.

The Maeve had demanded to know where Kirito and Yui had gone, and when the fiery little Mob had started to bounce to and fro and point the way with puffs of flame she'd rocketed off again, leaving Klein and a very confused collection of half woken Faeries chasing after her.

By the time he'd really had time to process what was happening, it had already been too late, he'd been in the middle of the dream-like confrontation between Asuna and her blue haired evil clone trying to hassle in on Kirito, right before she had summoned a bone spear from thin air and things had gotten a lot more sinister. Transforming herself into a _giant armored mermaid_, and transforming the entire beach into her «Boss Chamber» by enclosing the lagoon in a dome of water were pretty big hints.

If «Lhamthanc» was anything to go by, Klein grit his teeth, that barrier wasn't going to come down until they took her out. And they weren't safe getting away from the water either. A mermaid may not be too hot on land, but it was starting to look like her title wasn't an exaggeration. Queeny had brought an army to back herself up, Mobs and lots of them, with even more bursting from the sand every second.

"Klein! Look out!" Leafa's shout came almost too late as the Salamander backed off with a wing assisted jump. The ground at his feet exploded in a geyser of sand to reveal a crustacean about the size of a small car and equipped with an immense claw which tapered to a disturbingly sharp looking edge along the outside of its movable pincer, and swelled into a spiked club along the fixed edge, turning the appendage into a pretty wicked biological weapon for cutting, crushing, or bludgeoning as its owner saw fit.

Those must have been the «Sword Crabs» that Suisen had been talking about. And even while he was thinking it, two more burst out of the sand while the first raised its club-sided claw high overhead to commence a Faerie pulverizing swing.

Klein was quick on his feet, it would have been a hell of a shame if he wasn't by now. The sand where he'd been standing moments before exploded again as the mob's claw smashed down like a hammer blow, and then seemed to freeze up as it worked out in its crustacean brain that its victim had escaped.

Klein spared a heartbeat to look to either side. These three had just been the start, there were mobs emerging all across the beach now, some burrowing out of the ground while others climbed from the water, transforming the sandy paradise into a crater riddled beachhead. Everything from more «Sword Crabs» to pale white serpents, like Oriental Dragons with their wings and legs replaced by fins and a stubby tentacles, «Water Dragons», three eyed, dog sized «Mutant Frogs», and pinkish, slimy, «Sea Slugs».

Ten, twenty, thirty! 'Oy oy! That's way too many!' Bosses throwing out a few adds was nothing new, but this was ridiculous! The Salamander dodged again as the flanking crustacean tried to glomp him with a wad of «Poison Spit». The sand at his feet sizzled and hissed as it reacted with the caustic gunk.

Stuck right in the middle of a battle and here he was without a sword. 'Some Samurai!' He thought while a portion of his own treacherous brain reminded him that historically Samurai had emphasized bows and spears in battle, relegating the Katana to a sidearm. 'Shut up brain!' Klein skipped back, landing again to avoid using up flight time until he needed it.

'Come on man, this is what you've been busting your ass for!' Right. The Salamander raised his right hand, calling out a fast and tricky chant taught to him by the little pepper box Faerie Magician Enya, and then thrust out with his finger and thumb all pointed forward as a heat rose from his core and then flowed along his arm, gathering into an orange light in the palm of his hand and then erupting one, two, three, four, five, small and bright bolts zipping off as fast as musket balls, each one sending a recoil back into his palm.

When they hit home, raining across the front of the spitting «Sword Crab», each of the bright hot bolts exploded with the full force of one of Klein's more pedestrian «Fireballs». The crustacean let out an ear piercing hiss and raised its claws to cover its damaged face. All right! Klein savored his short lived victory as the «Crab» gave an angry -chitter- and began to smash and flail wildly with its claw.

"Oh shit!"

The Salamander back peddled and then kicked off into the air and safety. These things were pretty tough, but this wasn't some underwater dungeon where he'd be forced to come at them from the ground. At least, that was what he'd thought before the crabs had sunk down trembling and begun to vent . . . _bubbles?_

Klein didn't have long to dwell on that bizarre fact before he felt someone taking hold of him by the foot and pulling him back down _hard_. "Hey what's the big ide . . ." Agil hooked a thumb to the tiny Cait Syth catching up behind him.

"Idiot!" Argo hissed in a hateful little voice, and before Klein could say one word, took a throwing pick from her belt and tossed it up into the sky. No sooner did it pop one of the bubbles then did whole cloud of them flower into flames with a -whoosh- and a heat so intense that it would have even cremated a Salamander.

"Well shit." Was all Klein could think to say.

The beach was fast becoming a battlefield, and Asuna was right in the middle of it, the Maeve moving so fast on bursts of her wings that she seemed to blur from place to place as she landed precise strikes again and again on a half dozen mobs. It was only an instant before Klein realized what she was doing, aggroing the gathered Mobs' attention so that they would be too concentrated on her to move inland and threaten the civilians trapped under the dome with them.

"Agil," the Maeve shouted, her eyes never leaving the battle right in front of her as she sidestepped a slashing claw and then took the chance to dash up and skewer the eye stalk off of a Crustacean Mob, "I want you to go gather up everyone who can fight and get them out here now. Get everyone else as far away from the beach as possible!" Asuna didn't need to tell him twice, the Big Gnome had nodded grimly before turning back towards the outpost. At least those heavy walls might help slow the Mobs down.

Feinting from side to side, Asuna skipped gracefully between the caustic spit of two more of the crabs and lead a serpentine water dragon on a chase which got it caught up in the mincing crustacean's legs, toppling one of the walking tanks and leaving the dragon tossing and turning helplessly was it struggled to dig its way out of the sand with stubby tentacles and flippers.

"Kino!" This time Asuna shouted at the just arrived Faerie boy. "Gather up any equipment from our room and get it back out here. Don't let anyone else come out unarmed!" Said the only person who'd had the presence of mind to grab her sword!

"I'm on it!" The boy had rocketed off across the sand, sending up a plume of grit as he ducked and weaved to get ahead of the advancing wave of monsters.

"Argo!" Klein would never have expected to see the Cat rocket to attention like that, but this was Asuna they were talking about. "Keep back and try to figure out a weak point on this Boss. It may be unbeatable, but we just need a way to stun her and grab Kirito back!" Asuna paused in her one woman war, gritting her teeth as she glared up at the «The Abyssal Queen» herself, and the snared Kirito rapped in an alarming amount of ice and now levitated close to the Mermaid's armored chest like some sort of absurd piece of jewelry.

The two squared off, a girl who somehow still managed to make a regal impression barefoot and in her nighty rather than her knightly armor, and a sea monster half beached in the shallows, arching her back and raising her head imperiously as she surveyed the field through a helm of silver and crystal.

A low cry peeled out over the lagoon and echoed weirdly in the fast cooling and damp, still air. The mobs were frozen for a moment as they seemed to digest new orders, and then turned as a united force to advance on Asuna. "Klein, Leafa!" Both the Salamander and the Sylph were moving to meet up with her, no way was Asuna sticking this one out alone! "If we're going to get Kirito back, we need to keep the Mobs away from our friends and the other civilians first."

So do like Asuna was doing and get their attention. She _said _that, but, "That's not going to help much if we can't thin them out!" Klein shouted. A fistful of flame shots hadn't done much more than piss the big ones off, and if they had to play keep away, they couldn't run.

Asuna's answer came as she took a stand in front of the crustacean that Klein had injured before. Her wings flashed, knife edged, as she launched herself into a strike as precise and practiced as a «Sword Skill». Because underneath everything else, that was exactly what it was, a skill the Maeve had practiced so many times in that other world of Aincrad that even the distillation of swordsmanship knowledge that had come with the Transition hadn't been able to improve much on it.

The Mob tried to parry with its own wickedly curved blade-claw, but Asuna had the timing down nearly perfectly, she'd just used the armored limb as a jumping off point to pick up even more speed as she delivered her strike right under the chin with a -crunch- of shell and a spurt of greenish-blue blood. The «Sword Crab» had frozen, its arms dropping as Asuna fell back to land on her hands and knees and then charged beneath its body to deliver a finishing thrust to the posterior. The stunned mob collapsed and went instantly still.

Klein and Leafa both goggled at the accomplishment. "They're big, but they're still just crabs." The Vice Commander of the Yggdrasil Knights declared firmly. "If we destroy the ganglia that will kill them immediately."

The Sylph and Salamander looked dumbly between each other. 'Lethal Chef'. They both thought wordlessly as two more of the crab Mobs advanced on Asuna, followed by trio of Sea Slugs beginning to stretch their tentacles in anticipation.

Klein and Leafa took the one closest to Asuna, a late arrival handled the one bringing up the rear. A tight packed vortex of sand and air punched though the second crustacean's face plate, shattering its mandibles and spurting blood at its raced down the mob's ventral side, nearly splitting the whole monster open like . . . well like a _crab, _before bursting from its posterior.

"Pardon? That is how you kill one yes?" Prince Wales called out as he flourished his cane-wand and sent a shower of wind arrows down range to skewer an advancing swarm of mutant frogs. "Forgive me if I made a mess of it, Dame Asuna." A sharp hiss behind the Prince was met by a scream of wind as one of his Knights deflected a hydro-cutter attack spat out by a Water Dragon coiling itself on the beach like a nesting cobra. "Ah, Sir Thetcher, my thanks that you could join us!" The Prince laughed as if he was completely oblivious to the battle all around them.

Kid either had even more bravado than Klein had thought, or he really was a complete idiot. Well, 'We're all idiots!'

Sir Thetcher seemed to be silently banking on that too. "Your Highness, it isn't safe here!"

"Nor is it safe anywhere else!" Wales replied as he swept up a cloud of sand in a gale to blind the mobs rising up from the beach. "Not at present, you may as well keep here and guard my back where I can be of some use. Miss Montmorency?"

"Safe for now, You Highness, but this water barrier has cut us off from the stables!" So no dragons of their own. Klein wondered if that wasn't entirely intentional. Queeny seemed to be pretty smart like that. First snatching Kirito, and now trying to cut them off, what other tricks did she have up her sleeve?

Klein was too concentrated on diving between the last Sword Crab's legs to deliver a fistful of earth magic. He'd never killed a crab this way before, much less a giant crab, but he followed Asuna's example and hit home with a basic «Earth Nail», the brittle flint projectile shattering on impact, but not before skewering the delicate nerve bundle.

"Leafa!" Now it was the Sylph's turn to finish it off from the front. But instead of the cries of a magic chant, Klein only heard a telltale hum, like a stringed instrument. "Leafa?" Was she nuts? She'd seen what a couple of those bubbles could do! But that didn't seem to matter much to her as she rocketed into the air on her spreading wings.

"I have an idea!" Was all Klein managed to hear before her voice was lost.

Whatever it was, it was an idea that was going to get her killed as the listless Sword Crab managed to aim its back situated nozzles upwards and began to spew out a stream of deceptively benign looking bubbles, like hundreds of shining glass globes.

The Sylph arced up overhead, keeping her eyes on the lethal cloud and keeping her wings working furiously as she trimmed and banked in the crowded air. She was flying backwards now, leading the Crab's jets out over the sand and an advancing swarm of Sea Slugs and Mutant frogs.

A fourth crab rose out of the water, unfolded its limbs, and took aim at the Faerie girl from behind, another cloud of bubbles swirling out to fill the air. "Damn it, watch out!" Klein raised his hand to take aim, he could probably spark them off before they got too close . . .

The Sylph's wings split into an X-formation as she came still in the air for a heartbeat and Klein got a good look at her eyes glowing with an emerald inner light. "Prince!"

Wales and his guard turning together, they caught on to what Leafa was asking. 'She's insane!' The Sylph's wings raked as she erupted upward though the fast closing gap in the bubble cloud. 'She's _his_ sister.'

The air above the beach went dead still, and then, -whoomp-, or at least that was what it sounded like to Klein as a surge of air pushed the bubble cloud down into the path of the mobs. Leafa was shouting at him now, but Klein didn't need to be told. A fast fireball lit up the first rank, the leading Mutant Frogs burning up to nothing as the light and heat caused his eyes to water. Leafa joined in, setting off the bubbles from the sky with wind shrikes.

That put a stop to the first wave along this little slice of beach, but there were more coming, and either they were smarter than they looked or Queeny was learning as she watched the battle and took bored potshots at Asuna whenever the Maeve drifted too close. The next wave was lead up the beach by even _more_ Sword Crabs, this time advancing slowly with their smaller claw shielding their delicate mandibles and their bodies tilted forward to present their much tougher tops while the softer amphibians belly crawled beneath them for shelter and to guard their posteriors.

So they were getting schooled in combined arms by _seafood_.

Klein finished up with the dazed crab Leafa had coaxed into some friendly fire and then skirted back around on a low, steady burst of flight magic. Between the five of them, three Faeries and two mages, they were holding back the mobs here but . . . 'Who am I kidding, there's too damn many!' They might as well have been one rock tossed into the middle of a river. But damn if they weren't going to try.

Wales and Sir Thetcher had switched to a combination of wind and fire magic, burning the sand and the Mutant Frogs that didn't have the sense to burrow underground and escape the flames. Asuna was feinting and dodging between Sword Crabs, taking quick jabs at their joints to open them up for a killing blow, and hiding behind their thick shells to avoid the hydro-cutters and ice spells of the Water Dragons.

That left the Sea Slugs for Klein and Leafa. The two Faeries settled into a fast tempo, Leafa drawing their attention from the sky before Klein fried them with more fire magic. Then the Sylph would finish the job with her «Wind Shrikes». Altogether, they made a pretty good team.

Leafa was just about to make another dive into agro range when one of the slugs behind her began to tremble, the base of one of its tentacles swelled, and then the elastic limb shot out like a rubbery band. Before the Sylph could even shout she was snared around the ankle. "Wagh!"

'Not good!' Those things could tear off a limb with their tentacles! Klein kicked it up a notch, leaving his ground skimming behind to dive to the rescue. Fire gathered along the outer edge of his hand. It was no Katana, but it would do well enough, he really hoped.

"Let go!" Leafa shouted, her wings folded back as she strained to get away. "Waagh?!" And then overshot as Klein snapped the snaring tentacle with an edge of cauterizing fire magic. "Oomph!" And was sent crashing back into his arms, luckily before she picked up too much speed.

"Klein?" The Sylph blinked wild eyed and even wilder haired as the whole golden blonde mess whipped in the air.

"Still alright?" Klein asked urgently.

His answer came with arrival of another tentacle, this one trying to catch them both before it was sliced along its edge, a ribbon of slimy amorphous flesh twirling away like a ribbon while the Sylph held her right hand edge out and wrapped in a rippling Aura of wind magic.

"Nice one." The Salamander grunted as they parted in midair.

This wasn't the place for small talk, but the Sylph still managed a weak grin. "You Knights aren't the only ones who've been getting stronger." The little triumph didn't last long as the she turned her attention back to the Lagoon and the cause of all of this. "Nii-chan . . ."

The Boss had pushed off from the shore and taken Kirito with her. Now she was just sort of floating there, watching them struggle as she lazed. In fact, not like a boss at all. Klein's eyes widened, of course, she wasn't_just _a boss either. Taking Asuna's form like that, and the nonsense she'd spouted, she might be crazy, but she was definitely intelligent_._

'The bitch, she's playing with us!'

And Kirito was the prize they were playing for. Though, Klein grimaced at the ice that now covered him almost completely, how much longer could he last being chilled like that? It had to be the same though going through Leafa's mind and Asuna's. Asuna was just the one who acted first.

Just like her words, the only one that Queeny seemed to be paying any attention to was Asuna. When the Maeve fought off her mooks, she sent more, and now that she was fighting her way back to the shore, Octavia was really starting to watch. The second wave was marching inland, and the only thing between them and the walls of the outpost was one very angry Maeve.

Asuna didn't stay low to the ground though, she got air born airborne, right over the heads of the Crab Mobs who began to spit out their explosive bubbles. This time, the other mobs were safely sheltered underneath the tough crustaceans, Leafa's trick wouldn't work twice. But it wasn't what Asuna was going for. Klein saw the fast spinning script which transformed themselves into a fistful of crystal needles shot from the Maeve's hand.

A cluster of the slender «Light Needles» burst a bubble near the center of the cloud and the air beneath Asuna erupted in another blinding flash of light and fire. The Maeve erupted from the glare, sword held close to her chest and ready to thrust as she made an insane dash right into the face of the beast.

"Asuna!" Leafa cried out. Except . . .

Although she'd been a slow starter, Asuna had really been picking up on magic. It was that fanatical focus as the kind of person who had mastered «Sword Skills» through relentless repetition, helped along by a seemingly monstrous mana reserve. And now she was putting her own training to good use.

Klein's eyes fell lower, closer to the water and lost in the dissipating glare. There she was, the real one coming up from underneath on the boss's left, in the blind spot formed by her swing, and angling for Kirito's icy prison, already with a fire based «Dispel» on her lips.

Almost there! Octavia tossed in the water, her right arm rising with astonishing speed as she raised her «Whale Bone Spear» overhead, the weapon grown to the same astonishing proportions as its master, and moving with an ease that was in complete defiance of its apparent mass. The Asuna aiming for Octavia was obliterated, shattering into crystal fragments like a defeated «Avatar». But something was _wrong_, «Octavia» didn't seem surprised at the illusion, in fact, she was moving like her strike wasn't finished.

The boss's Whale Bone Spear plunged into the water of the lagoon, and then into the sand, digging in like a ship's anchor as she stopped herself and pushed herself back in the other direction. There was no sign, not tell until it was too late, Asuna had no chance to see it coming, like a fly hitting a windshield she was swiped out of the air and sent spinning out into water at the heart of the lagoon with nothing but a tiny splash to mark where she'd hit.

"Asuna!" Now both Faeries shouted together as they erupted up into the sky and rushed to try and reach the Maeve before she drowned, or worse, that soft and low Whale Cry echoed again in the air, and the Water Dragons that has been spitting magic and trading debuffs with Prince Wales and Sir Thetcher while Mutant Frogs bombarded them with «Sonic Screech» turned back to the water and through themselves back in.

Long, serpentine bodies moved fast, fluked tails propelling them, and wing fins allowing them to almost fly under the water. Like penguins. 'Or sea lions!'

"Leafa?!" Klein called, the Sylph's eyes were sharped than his, and she might have been able to see the air bubbled with her «Wind Sight». There was no sign of Asuna on the surface of the water, the ripples of her splash had already vanished, but the dragons were diving like they'd spotting something. "Oy, Leafa, you be ready to grab me when I come back up!" He'd need to get out of the water so he could spread his wings again, and he wasn't looking forward to getting eaten. This was a heck of a time to wish he'd been reborn as an Undine.

Then something really _weird _happened. The water beneath them had begun to froth up. First Klein thought it was the dragon's starting to frenzy. Then the water, well . . . it just mushroomed up, like it couldn't get out of the way of something trying to surface fast enough. A brilliant white flicker glimmered beneath the water for just an eye blink, dazzling both Faeries before it vanished back within the bubbled and froth.

"What the hell?!" Klein grunted under his breath. The strange Whale Call rising from Octavia seemed to be saying the same thing as she turned slowly to look over her shoulder.

Something erupted from the water, long, and white, and serpentine. A Water Dragon. At first Klein thought it had jumped, but the mob just kept going and going, and then falling until it crashed into the beach sand and went still.

Octavia's Whale Calls rose into something that sounded a lot more like alarm now as she heaved her spear in one hand and balanced against the sands of the shallows with the other. This time, she didn't notice the darkening of the water closing in from behind her, curving around with incredible speed and grace, not until the last instant as the water exploded once more, and something just as big, and much, _much_ angrier, through itself into the fight.

Klein looked to Leafa, both Faerie speechless as the water began to rain back down, getting them wet even as they hung up in the sky. Both Faeries were stricken speechless by what they saw. Same long, fluked tail, same shinning, mirrored mythril armor, and same mane of silver-blue erupting from that regal helm.

And just like that, there were two of them.

Leafa managed to recover first, sort of, just enough to whisper what both of them were thinking. "A . . . Asuna?!"

* * *

«Alert» «Alert» Kirigaya Yui's awareness was riddled with «Alerts» as she sprang back to full wakefulness beside Caramella. She and the Nymph woman had been climbing the tower steps back to bed when the first of Yui's «Enhanced Sensory Function» «Alerts» had been tripped and then been immediately followed by more.

«0.173s» «Alert» «Large Contact» «Tag : Unknown» «Vector 120,-5,377m»

«0.506s» «Alert» «Multiple Contacts : 12, 17, 24, 37 . . .» «Tag : Sea Slug, Mutant Frog, Sword Crab, Water Dragon . . . » «Vector 112,-9,221m;116,-7,244m,122,-8,234m . . . »

«1.442s» «Alert» «Environmental Anomaly» «Range 112m»

«3.157s» «Alert» «Contact» «Tag : Mutant Frog» «Vector 100, -12, 61m»

«4.771s» «Alert» «Environmental Anomaly» «Return Null» «Spherical, D = 500m»

«Query» Just what . . . Yui rubbed blearily at her eyes . . . was happening? «Booting . . . 15% . . . 27% . . . 54% . . . »

"What the actual hell?" Yui registered Caramella squeezing her hand tightly while steadying herself against the railing. The Nymph squinted in the direction of the beach where a plume of white was rising high up into the air and where shouts of alarms were already drifting back towards the tower.

"It's . . . an attack . . . I think." Yui scrunched up her brow, oblivious to the swordswoman's look of surprise. "Mmm . . . Mobs . . . coming this way . . . about a dozen or so . . . " She mumbled, and nodded, and then realized . . . « . . . 91% . . . 100%»

«Query Location» Mama? Papa?! They weren't nearby, she could tell, if they'd been within fifty meters she would have been able to detect them with «Active Sensing». And therefore, if they weren't inside the resort walls . . . «Alarm» Finished the job that the «Alerts» had started.

"Mama! Papa!"

Wings unfurled themselves with barely a thought as Yui tried to take a running jump into the sky, only to be tugged back down again by the hand around her wrist. Yui tried to fuss and struggle, but there was no fighting the much bigger and stronger Faerie woman and before she could say a word she was being «Put in Her Place»

"Hold it kiddo! You said there were Mobs coming?" Caramella grunted as she reeled Yui back in. "Whatever's up, your mom and dad will want you somewhere safe. Got it?"

«Query» «Analysis» Where was safe? Yui thought about opening her mouth. The anomalous wall was completely impenetrable to her senses, which meant it had to contain a lot of magic, probably more than they could defeat. If Mama and Papa were in danger, she needed to go to them and help. «Conclusion» Such a course of action would be completely «Futile». Yui didn't care, she even began to open her mouth to argue before she found a strong arm snaking around her waist as she was lifted up into a side carry and left to swing her arms and legs uselessly. "Waggh!"

"Sorry Yui-chan, we're not debating this!" Caramella growled as she made her way back down the stairs and towards the open dining room door. "Hey, people! You all need to get back indoors and barricade yourself inside, now! And go wake up anyone staying in the other guest quarters. Hurry it up!"

By now, the noise had started to bring more people out to investigate what was happening. Some of the serving staff, and their manager, the big funny man that everyone called 'Mademoiselle' with a completely straight face, and some of the other guests, including their friends.

"What in good heavens in happening out here?!" 'Mademoiselle' cried as he threw a hand over his brow and peered off in the direction of the noises of battle. Lips were chewed as his eyes narrowed and Mister Scarron assumed a distinctly «Rigid» posture. After a moment of stillness, Yui detected an atypical lowering of heart rate as the large man began to slowly and then more urgently wave his staff back inside.

"Carmond!" Caramella twisted and called back up the stairs to the Salamander soldier. "Grab your spear and tell everyone to get inside. We've got problems incoming."

"There you are Yui-chan!" Balandene cried as she ran down the stairs, leading her uncle who allowed himself to be pulled reluctantly along. "Yui-chan? What's happening?! That weird thing that was following me started acting crazy and waking everyone up . . . and you were gone . . . and so were your Mama and Papa . . ." The little blonde Sylph girl shook her head like she completely lost. "Yui-chan, what's happening!

What was happening? Yui blinked as she registered the query and replied. "This place is being attacked by monsters." She answered. "Lots of them." «Contact» «Correction» They'd moved much faster than she'd predicted. «Conclusion» This was not a random search/patrol pattern, the Mobs' movements appeared to be directed.

«Multiple Contacts» «Mutant Frog» «Vector 260, -30, 25m»

"Caramella-san," Yui got the Nymph's attention by falling still, the swordswoman met her eyes gravely, "They're here."

Less than point seven oh five seconds after issuing her warning, the first Mob came into view as it threw itself over the outer stone walls of the compound on strong hind legs. Yui was able to identify the mob immediately as a «Mutant Frog» belonging to the «Amphibian» class of Mobs, very similar in overall appearance and body structure to the ones her Papa had cut through beneath Aincrad's «Town of Beginnings».

It hit the ground with a meaty -thud-, gray skin slimy and shiny in the dimming night light cast from above by the watery dome and from all around by ore-lamps and torches. Three big, ovoid red eyes situated in a lumpy head swept from side to side before fixing on Yui and Caramella.

-Rbbbbbttttt-

"Uh . . ." Caramella reached to her back and her hand found thin air. Yui heard her curse as the Frog's throat inflated, swelling up like a balloon, and then . . . . .

-RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT-

Yui felt herself suddenly going weightless as she was thrown up into the air just as Caramella was struck head on by the concentrated ball of sound. One moment the Faerie Knight was standing, the next she was blasted back into the tower wall as the patio shook and splintered, dust peeled from every surface, and spackle was loosened and drizzled down in a light rain all over.

"Caramella!" Yui cried as she spread her wings to hover overhead. The Nymph staggered drunkenly back from the wall before sinking to her knees. Oh no!

«Alert» Yui detected more Mobs moving in with «Astonishing» speed before making their leap over the wall and into the outpost interior. Seven more Frogs scattered across the sand and packed earth. Sergeant Carmond charged into the fray with his spear and magic flames in defence of the stunned Nymph while Yui watched from the sky and tried to think of something she could do to help.

A «Buff»! she decided quickly, she could use her magic to enhance the Sergeant's «Stats»! With that thought firmly held in her mind, Yui began to feverishly chant, the words flowing with perfect enunciation and so swiftly that they compressed into a high-speed babble. The outside system skill «Speed Chanting» which had been created by players pushing their magic chant speeds to the limit, Yui had devoted herself to mastering it and found that she really did have a «Talent» for such things.

A glow collected in the palm of her outstretched hand and then suffused into the Salamander fighting beneath her. The spell's effect wasn't immediately apparent, but there was a sudden lightness to the Sergeant's motions and his tempo sped up as he kept the Mobs at bay with thrusts and jabs of his spear. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, the big Salamander nodded and tossed his head back towards the stairs. «Inference» telling her to get back and . . .

«Alert» Yui registered as something slapped into her ankle and then grabbed on, like Caramella pulling her back earlier, but this time even stronger. "Wagh!" Yui suddenly found herself fighting to stay airborne as she looked down past her leg to the long, pinkish-gray tongue and the wide, toothless mouth of its owner.

"Hagh! Let go!" Yui squirmed as she put all of her might into trying to climb up. The Frog lifted onto its hind legs, its tongue trembled, but still she was being pulled lower, and now more of the Frogs had seen what was happening and were gathering to help, wide mouths opening as they took aim with their bizarre 'triocular' vision.

When Yui tried to aim a spell, her hand received the same «Tongue Attack» that had snared her leg. "Yui!" Carmond shouted as the Frogs he was fighting lashed out and grabbed onto his spear with their tongues, forcing the Salamander into a tug of war, that while he could win, meant he couldn't come to Yui's rescue.

Then, as suddenly as it had started, it ended in a flash of silver as something dark and swift and propelled by four green Faerie Wings came down on the head of the leading Frog in an end over end swing that ended as swift and hard as a hatchet striking a tree trunk and sank its way easily halfway through the mob's skull. The Mutant Frog seized with involuntary nerve impulses, its center eye burst red and soupy. Yui felt the grip on her ankle vanish and the little Maeve girl bobbed back skywards before she cut her wings and landed lightly behind her «Savior».

Yui tilted her head and blinked. "Bardiche-san?"

The Sylph planted a booted foot firmly on the lumpy head of the felled Mob and pulled free the wedged head of his namesake weapon, spinning the halberd lightly in a display of all his hard practice before assuming a fighting stance with his wings spread at the ready as he faced off against the others who after a moment of stunned confusion had begun to waddle closer and hunch up to attack. "Uncle?" The blonde boy called over his shoulder.

"Ueda!" Carmond shouted back. "Take Yui and Kazu back inside and hide, now!"

"But . . ."

"Now!" Carmond shouted and the Sylph boy cringed. Yui could only feel «Sympathy» for him, after all, they were both being told they needed to run and hide, even as everyone else fought to protect them. And although Yui hated it too, she understood why it had to be this way. Their combined «Combat Potential» was less than what would be lost if they stayed and distracted the adults. Getting someplace safe was best for everyone.

"Come on Bardiche-san!" Yui grabbed his wrist and began to pull away from the Mobs and back towards the stairs where Balandene was «Cowering» in fear. Poor Balandene, she didn't understand how the Mobs worked. Her uncle had them completely «Agroed» which meant this was their chance to get away before more showed up.

The Salamander Tank lowered his shoulder as he broke into a wing assisted charge to meet the rush of one of the bigger Frogs, a green spotted «Bull», who had decided to launch himself into Carmond so that he could knock the Sergeant over and smother him beneath his slimy bulk. That plan was ended as quickly as it was hatched as the Salamander delivered the head of his spear right into the Mob's throat. After burying the spear a quarter of the way down the length of its shaft, Carmond strained visibly as he lifted the dying mob carcass overhead and then swung it back down, hard, on top of another that had been preparing its own «Sonic Blast».

This was the combat ability of a «Soldier» who had trained endlessly to excel in battle, Yui thought. «Impressive». It was a lot like her Mama and Papa, systematic and almost «Clinically» efficient, without any grand gestures or excessive movements. Sergeant Carmond simply moved to eliminate each «Threat» in a conservative manner before moving on to the next. But there were limits even to a soldier's ability to fight an enemy approaching from all sides.

First one tongue caught onto his left wrist, and then another grabbed him from the right and began to pull his arms apart while the other Frogs tied him down by taking hold of his shoulders and legs so that the Salamander couldn't lift into the air.

"Uncle!" Bardiche fought against Yui's grip, and being the stronger of the two of them, managed to pull himself free and charge into the fray. Yui's worry grew and then all at once faded as she realized, 'He's pretty good!' With the Mobs distracted by the larger threat of his Uncle, Bardiche was able to hit them from the sides and completely unexpectedly.

Although he lacked raw strength, between the leverage provided by his weapon and his skill with his wings, the boy was able to build up a series of powerful, spinning swings in midair that transformed him into a blur of luminescent green wings, dark green clothing, and glinting faerie metal as he chopped tongues like an aerial buzz saw.

«Alert» Now that Carmond was held in place, Bardiche was making himself the primary «Threat» and the newly arriving Mobs were starting to turn their attention towards him. «Assessment» Bardiche was fast, but his technique didn't lend itself to multiple targets or maintaining «Situational Awareness» beyond his immediate vicinity.

«Conclusion» He needed to be helped or he would get himself overwhelmed before he freed his Uncle. When the first Mutant Frog pounced to try and taken him out of the air, the Mob found itself face planting into a translucent white barrier before bouncing back with a smooshed snout and completely dazed stumbling. The fading afterimage of stardust light caught the Sylph boy's attention, but only for a moment, and for a blink their eyes met.

Yui detected sudden movement from the corner of her vision. "Damn it, don't count me out yet!" It seemed that enough time has passed for Caramella to regain her senses and rejoin the fray.

The Nymph didn't have her sword, but that was okay, she still had her fists and her feet, and the Faerie strength to make the «Amphibians» into «Punching Bags» with wet -thuds- whenever her feet or fists connected, or gooier -splorching- noises when she went for an eye. It was so «Amazing» that Caramella wasn't able to hear Yui's shouted warning.

"Idiot!" Carmond roared as he tore free of the last of the tongues and brought one down on his head. "What are you doing?!"

The Nymph grinned «Triumphantly» as she dropped a kick onto the head of a smaller mob specimen. "What's it look like? Saving your ass the only way I can . . ." Caramella blinked suddenly as her right arm fell to her side limp, "Ermm . . .", and then her legs got shaky.

"Dumb ass!" Carmond dove past the Nymph and skewered the Frog she'd stunned moments before. "You touched them with bare skin!"

«Mutant Frog» «Special Ability : Paralyzing Venom» Skin contact would result in numbness within fifteen seconds and complete voluntary muscle paralysis of the afflicted area within one minute for up to one hour. That was why Carmond had kept them at arm's length with his spear. And why now they were in trouble as the sand began to flow and a new «Alert» yearned for Yui's attention.

Pink tentacles sprouted from the ground like fast growing creepers, heralding the arrival of a much larger and pinkish creature, massive jiggling body taking lumpy shape as two golden eyes sprouted on the end of stalks. The «Sea Slug» rose out of the sand and made its first order of business to grab hold of the paralyzed knight and cocoon her helplessly in tentacles.

"Shit!" At least she hadn't lost the power to speak, Yui thought as the Nymph's eyes went wide. "Shit shit help HELP!"

"Hold still!" Carmond growled as he tried to take aim at the base of the tentacles with a well aimed «Cauterizing Edge» buff added to his spear tip. The needle blow turned out to be completely superfluous a moment later as more «Contacts» emerged from the tower. Yui recognized them all at once.

A hiss made itself known as something fast moving and brilliant knifed through the air and perfectly sliced the Slug's tentacles all along its right side, leaving Caramella to fall limply back to the ground. "Ora ora!" A growling voice rose like the buzzing of angry bees from the newly arrived Leprechaun girl dressed in a sleep Yukata that Yui thought wasn't being worn quite right, judging by the way it hung from her right shoulder to bare skin and the strap of her underwear. "What the hell is all of this!"

"Nice of you . . . to join us . . ." Caramella groaned as Carmond freed her from the lifeless tentacles and picked her up in his arms to carry to safety. "Mind covering us for a few seconds?"

The Smith blinked twice, her gold eyes focusing on the Mob recovering at their backs. Yui didn't detect any of the «Anxiety» that the Leprechaun girl had displayed previously when «Socializing» even though this was now a «Life or Death» situation. It seemed some people were just more comfortable in battle.

"A few seconds? Huh . . . J-Just who do you th-think I am!" The slender katana in her right hand tapped against her shoulder as she took a step forward. Yui watched closely, she had the same way of walking that Aunt Suguha used when she performed her sword drills, but instead of charging in with her sword right away, the Faerie smith began to chant under her breath. Only when she was finished with the spells did she push off from her back leg, wings flashing.

The eyes of the Sea Slug Mob flashed as well as wriggling tentacles came still and then erupted like whips to try and grab hold. Kofu's sword swing stopped in midair, the Katana pulling back in as she pivoted out of the way and then reached out with left hand. A light collected and began to grow as she plunged her fist into the sand at her feet and then cut loose like she was going to perform a left handed swing. And by magic, a red hot blade of fused glass emerged from the earth to obey.

The Sea Slug squealed in pain as it was chopped messily along its flank in a short live spray of purple blood. The cry cut short as a second Leprechaun fell in from above and delivered a heavy handed mace swing with a powerful fire enchantment.

"P-pretty cool huh?" The first Leprechaun grinned as the «Ceramic Sword» shattered into fine pebbles of tempered glass "D-Don't u-underestimate someone wh-o took lessons from S-Sakuya-sama! If I c-can make it I can swing it like a pro!"

"Jeez, how about instead of showing off and being flashy, you actually _finish_ it off for once." Aunt Liz grumbled as she delivered another swing to the still mob for good measure. "You know, like a _pro_ would?" The master smith snickered and waved vaguely at her apprentice who appeared completely «Unamused».

The arrival of Liz and Kofu gave Yui time to «Catch Her Breath» and scan beyond her immediate surroundings. To their left, Silica and Yuuki were mopping up some of the Mutant Frogs that had tried to batter down the dining room door while Shiune held back and stopped another Sea Slug in its tracks with her ice based magic, freezing the mob solid before it could hurt anyone.

Yuuki in particular seemed to be filled with reckless energy as she danced and dodged between the Frogs, even sidestepping their tongue attacks so that she could chop them off with a swift swing of her sword. Meanwhile, Silica and Pina were more conservative, the Cait girl and her familiar concentrated on distracting and blinding the Mobs and tripping them up with «Snaring Creepers» that rooted themselves deep in the sand and quickly grew over their target.

That only left . . . A high pitched squeal over head was joined by a -RRRRBBBBBTTTTT?!- and a loud -THUD- as something arced away from the third floor of the tower and fell twitching in a heap to the ground, followed by a second, and then a third Mutant Frog that had attempted to scale the side of the building and find their way inside that way.

There, they had wound up being confronted by the only person left to fight them who was now standing atop the third floor landing, demolishing the safety rail as she wildly and blindly swung a war hammer with startling speed and strength. "EEEEEWWWWWW! GROSS GROSS GROOOOSSSSS!"

"Erm?" Yui tilted her head. She wondered if Eda had ever figured out her own strength.

"Oy oy." Caramella muttered in Carmond's arms. "Nice _swing_ Big Girl."

"Kat!" Uncle Agil shouted as he descended from the direction of the beach to survey the destruction.

"GROSS GROSS GROSS GROSS!"

"Kat! I need you stop swinging the . . . hey! . . . Hammer now and . . . Whoa!"

The Gnome husband hovered back from his wife and waited for what he was saying to get through. When it did, Eda stopped swinging as suddenly as she had started and cracked open her eye. "A-Andy?"

"Easy there!" Agil said gently as Eda looked at the hammer in her hands and then hugged it to her chest as if it were some sort of «Talisman». "Mind if I take that back now?"

"T-Those things!" There were big tears in Eda's eyes as started crying and shaking her head. "You fought things like that?!"

Of course, Eda hadn't had much of a chance to learn anything about fighting before the Transition had occurred, and afterwards she had spent most of her time helping Agil run their business. So among the ranks of the Faeries she was a true novice in battle. Which was why Agil was now comforting her as he patted his wife on the back and carefully plucked the hammer out of her hands.

"S-So gross! Even when I smashed them, they were all _gooey and slimy_."

"Well . . . That's _probably_ because you hit them with a sledgehammer honey. Lots of things seem gooey and slimy when you do that."

"I was so scared!"

"There there. Get it all out."

Agil's comforting expression faded as he tossed his gaze down to the other Faeries on the ground below. "Alright, we need to get organized here. We've got a situation on our hands out on the beach."

"Gee, ya think?!" Caramella growled. The Nymph by now had been put down in a chair where she could recover while Carmond started shouting instructions to the handful of other guests who had emerged armed and ready to defend themselves. There were still Mobs in the area, and more were coming, but they had a minute or two.

"It's a Boss." Agil announced firmly. "And a damn big one. Asuna and the others are keeping it busy and holding off the Mobs on the beach but . . . " The big Gnome grit his teeth as he bit off whatever it was he was about to say. Yui detected a definite spike in blood pressure and pulse.

"Agil-san . . ." Yui called. "What is it?"

Agil wouldn't look her in the eyes when he answered. "That thing . . . that thing took Kirito . . . Took him as some sort of hostage or something."

«Hostage»? "Papa!"

"Kirito-kun?!" Silica rung her hands. "Oh no!"

"What? Damn it!" Liz cried. "Agil, how did you let this happen!"

"Look, calm down everyone, we're going to get him back." Agil raised his hands. "But first, Asuna needs anyone who can help fighting to keep these Mobs from swarming. Everyone else should help get the civilians to cover. Kino?" He called over his shoulder to the straw haired boy who had vanished into the guest room and reappeared with Papa's Dual Deciders, Klein's Katana, and Aunt Suguha's longsword.

"I've got it, this is everything." The boy grunted as he took a jump and fluttered down to the sand. "I'll get these . . ." The young Nymph's voice was drowned out as an eruption of water and noise drew everyone's attention to the «West» a strange noise rising loud and terrible and completely «Alien». Yui froze up as she tried to place it.

"What in the heck was that?!" Silica's ears pivoted and zeroed in on the source of the noise. It was a very difficult task as the cry echoed off walls of water high overhead. Pina let out a small, high pitched "Kyaa!" as she beat her wings and climbed up into the sky, followed by Yuuki who set down on the top of the wall and raised a hand as she squinted into the distance.

«Query» Yui's «Enhanced Sensory Functions» pinged outward as she tried to isolate the source. «Alert» «Large Contact» «Tag : Unknown» Unknown tag again . . . «Query» Why? And there were two of them now. One of them overlapping with . . . 'Mama?' The thought resonated in her head as she registered the low sounds of whimpers nearby and looked back towards the tower stairs.

«Alert»! "Ban-chan!" Yui squeaked. The other little girl was curled up against the wall, crying loudly as she clutched something tight to her chest.

How?! Yui realized, she and Bardiche had moved away from the stairs in the fighting; in the confusion, she hadn't given Balandene much conscious thought, and in that time, three smaller Mutant Frogs, «Threat Priority : Low» had crept up on her friend. The trio of Mobs lay completely still now, easily fended off when Yuuki and Silica had arrived. "Ban-chan! Are you hurt?!"

"Kazu!" Bardiche shouted as he burst past Yui and fell skidding to his knees. "Hey, hey! Speak to me Kazu! Kazu?"

"S-Stupid!" Balandene cried out as she curled tighter around whatever she was holding in her hands. "Stupid! Stupid! Why would this weird thing . . . ?"

"Weird thing?" «Query» Yui stopped in her tracks as she stared at one of the Mutant Frogs. Yuuki and Silica had been using mostly their swords and Silica's «Nature» type magic to fend them off. But two of the Frogs also showed signs of burns and the ground around them was frosted with fused glass like what Kofu had made with her spell, and there close by, there were signs of another «Sonic Blast» that had struck something out of the air and smashed it into the wall of the tower. Whatever that thing was, it was in Balandene's hands now. "Ban-chan . . ." Yui raised a hand as she felt an unpleasant «Tightness» grow in her chest.

The Little Sylph girl gradually loosened her grip, revealing the tiny lump of embers burning feebly in her hands. Despite how hot it looked, Balandene's hands trembled as if she was freezing. Then, two little ruby eyes collected themselves atop the lump and gave Balandene a curious look as a small, feeble squeak rose up.

"Ban . . . Ban-chan . . . Danger . . . Come . . . Find . . . Now. Safe?"

Eyes shining with tiny crystal tears, Balandene nodded slowly, and then faster, as the little ember in her hands began to fade. "U-Un! I'm, I'm fine Djinn-kun . . . I . . . I'm okay . . ."

The little Djinn quivered as it seemed to inflate and then deflated. "Glad!" It said, and then snuffed out.

* * *

_The air over the desert dunes was calm, the dust had settled, and the sky was filled with the hard flecks of stars and the moonlight that refracted across the trillion trillion grains of sand like an ocean. There were few places where the night could be as clear as the desert, and few desert nights that were as clear as tonight._

_And more so, it was still, perfectly still as the earth itself cooled and life's tempo slowed to a near halt. Only the deep of night could be as still as the sun baked midday as the creatures of the sand sea rested, snorkeling air from the surface, while the insects and small creatures burrowed deeper for lingering warmth. Closest to the surface, mixed in with the sand, or hiding beneath the hardy scrub that clung all too briefly to life, small, flat heads sat on thick, neck-less little bodies, and gazed up at the stars, mostly silent, but murmuring to one another from time to time in small, broken voices._

_"Pretty. Stars. Pretty!"_

_"Dark. Night. Sleepy. Sleep!"_

_Then, from the stillness, a faint wind rippled. An anomaly, something was moving, dancing in the sand, scampering and diving, and bursting back out on swift, ever changing limbs that were at once legs, flippers, wings, and fins, but never any one of them for more than an instant._

_The runner didn't have a name, not as humans or Faeries would understand, although it could proudly have identified precisely everything about itself in its own way. But if it had been asked, it would have called itself 'Djinn'. For they were each 'Djinn' and the same, just as they were each unique as the ever changing sands. Each unique and each the same as one drop of water was to the next. It was this uniqueness that had sent 'Djinn' running, and this sameness which brought it now to the first sand dune where it came to stand and then began to thump the earth with one flat hind leg._

_It was not long before it was answered, the sand stirring as first one flat head, then two, then a dozen, poked out of the sand and observed with jeweled eyes. The dune became alight with minuscule embers all sullen and sleepy. _

_"Waking. Waking. What? What?!" The same reply and the same question rippled across the sand and received an immediate answer._

_'Djinn' trembled as it began to squeak in a high pitched voice. "Help! Help! Help! Please. Please! Asuna. Asuna. Trouble! Help!"_

_The Djinn of the dune looked from one to the other as they parsed what had been said and echoed back. "Asuna? Asuna? Asuna? Who? Why?"_

_Djinn trembled as it waited, quickly growing impatient before digging its heels into the sand and then launching itself into the air. Its form changed at once as it thought of flying, stretching its stubby arms into long, elegant wings, and its neck into a graceful stretch, fiery regal plumage burst into glowing life as it took two wing beats and dived on one of its startled fellows._

_The phoenix-like bird exploded into embers, its form dying instantly as the two Djinn collided and for a moment came together as a confused one. For that moment, 'Djinn' and 'Djinn' were both 'Djinn' and then they were 'Djinn' and 'Djinn' again as the messenger tumbled into a heap before righting itself and shaking its head dizzily._

_The other 'Djinn' stood stunned for a moment, as if digesting some deep revelation. The others, all curious at the scene, began to crawl forward, digging themselves from the sands as they waddled closer and sniffed cautiously at the air with small, pinkish snouts._

_Then, slowly, the messenger 'Djinn' and the other 'Djinn' stared at each other, both tilting their heads to their right and then to their left. And then together. "Asuna? Titania! Asuna! Danger! Asuna! Danger! Big! Big! Danger!" Both flapped their stubby wings. Together, jumping to life, they scurried to collide with the other Djinn, merging into the others wholly or in part before splitting again to scatter the message further. Like a cascade, soon, all of them were running to join together and spread the news and they all knew what 'Djinn' had come to tell them. Just as 'Djinn' had been urgently warned by 'Djinn' who had feared for their Friends Asuna and Yui and for sad little Ban-chan._

_The Djinn babbled among themselves, a furious barrage of words that meant next to nothing and almost everything to them. "Asuna! Danger! Help. Help! Asuna!" It was a sentiment that was echoed again and again as the Djinn merged and split, reflecting upon one another like drops of a mercury mirror. But at the same time . . . _

_"But! Octavia!" They began to whisper fearfully._

_"Scary! Scary!"_

_Then there was silence again as the Djinn trembled and meditated on this. Their impressions were vague and frightful, a creature vast beyond their comprehension, powerful, cruel, and vicious. That was what threatened their friend now, and if they went to help. They would have to fight it._

_"But. Promise! Make. Promise! We. Help! We!"_

_This too, the Djinn thought on hard, very hard, so hard that it began to ache, so hard that those standing close to one another began to tremble, and ooze and merge together as they sacrificed concentrating on their forms and made themselves remember . . . things . . . Things that they knew, that they all knew, like a half remembered dream that was growing clearer by the moment._

_"Promise! And! Alliance! Friend! Yes! And! And! Ally! Make . . . Promise! We . . . Make . . . Alliance . . . With . . . With . . . With . . . Asuna!"_

_And there was another thing the Djinn began to remember, now that it was important, so important that they could hardly have dared forgotten. Stirring from their waking dream, the Djinn began to remember their power._

_"We! Go! Now!"_

_It began as a whisper across the still desert, and then it rose to a single voice as a breeze began to blow down the dunes in the direction of water. First one 'Djinn' and then another and another._

_"Go! We! Go!"_

_Like an avalanche picking up speed, starting small and growing until it became unstoppable. The sands began to pick up, grain by grain, sweeping along the earth in the wake of the racing creatures that dove into the sand and erupted back to the surface like fish, their embers glittering like scales, and then bursting into wings as they swept long above the sands on pockets of self generated thermals._

_They were joined by still more, like tributary streams coming together into a river, hopping along the surface on lengthened hind legs, swimming the sands, or flying low through the air, plumage like streamers of fire racing ahead of the wind that had become a sandstorm at their backs._

_One 'Djinn' caught up to another 'Djinn' and leaped, landing atop it and both becoming 'Djinn' who leaped again to merge together with yet another 'Djinn' as its form grew and its shape became definite and defined, lumpy body stretching and crackling as matter crystallized into bone and sinew breathed into life by the fire that raced in its veins as it fell into a four legged sprint and flames billowed from its magnificent mane. No sooner had it formed than was the beast overtaken and its form subsumed into the growing storm._

_More Djinn joined it, merging and burrowing deep as they remembered more and more, understood more and more, and became more and more, burdening themselves for the sake of their promise. It was not an easy thing to do. Hard to remember like this, hard to think, too many voices, and too many thoughts. _

_But as they remembered what they were, they remembered who they were, and what their promise meant. A melody grew to resonate within them, one by one, guiding them, uniting them with certainty behind their purpose._

_"Now! Go! Asuna! We! Fight"_

_This avalanche too began as many small pebbles which merged and grew into a single homogenous force, for each instant to the next the call growing clearer, brighter, and more certain in the mind of 'Djinn' who merged with 'Djinn' who merged with 'Djinn' until the simple name of 'Djinn' was no longer sufficient to contain all that it was._

_The leading Djinn came into view of their destination, a hemisphere rising high over the water, and glittering like a mirror reflecting the stars' light and glowing with raw magic fit to make any one of them tremble. But they did not tremble, they did not stop, they did not slow._

_They charged._

* * *

When the words left Asuna's lips, carried in the bubbles of the last air from her lungs, the Maeve had only half understood what she was doing. Hitting the water so hard and so fast, for a second or two she'd blacked out completely, and by the time she'd regained her senses, her blurred vision had been filled with the sleek shapes of «Water Dragons» with their jaws open wide aiming for her arms and legs.

When she'd understood what was happening, the Maeve hadn't wasted any time screaming, it would have been no use anyways, she hadn't wasted time on any other spells either. Although she had been training to fight, Albion was an aerial power and its strategic interests resided ninety nine percent on land or on floating land masses, therefore Aquatic combat hadn't been touched upon at all in their training curriculum at the Champ de Mars. Any deficiency in that department had been expected to be made up for in the field by Undine specialists.

Spells that would function effectively under water had been similarly disregarded, with an extra warning about the extreme dangers of utilizing some forms of magic while submerged. Unable to use her wings or full speed, and unable to cast magic effectively, really, Asuna had just done the only thing she could think of that might save herself from being eaten.

If Kirito had been strong enough to transform into a field boss, she reasoned, then hopefully her own transformation would at least be something big enough that it could survive having a few bites taken out of its illusory form while she struggled back to the surface.

Honestly, she hadn't fully expected the spell to work as she was suddenly engulfed in light. Not the first time anyways. She'd practiced the words without the chanting intonation before, but more out of curiosity than anything. She hadn't really tried to use it until now. Now . . . _Now_ she understood just why it was that Kirito had remained so vague when describing the experience, and why the other Illusion Masters couldn't seem to agree about it either.

Asuna hadn't known what to expect, just that she hadn't been expecting _this_. Not that _this_ wasn't good enough, the Maeve trembled as she drew in another heavy breath, feeling the air flowing in through the base of her neck, just ahead of her . . . _dorsal fin_, filling her lungs as her arms trembled, her stomach knotted, and her long tail burned with tightly coiled muscle. It was made all the more impossible by just how readily she could _accept_ this utterly alien form, its unfamiliar senses and even more unfamiliar sense of scale, all simply seemed 'Normal' at that moment.

Now incarnated however briefly in the form of a titanic mermaid, Asuna intended to take full advantage as she bore her tremendous weight down on her attacker from behind. If Octavia was going to steal her form to attack her family, then the least she could do was pay her back. Asuna squinted . . . For however long she could manage anyways . . . Normally whenever she cast magic, her mana reserves felt like a candle wick burning down bit by bit, but now, it was more like a fuse soaked in black powder, burning fast and bright and _briefly_ at the back of her brain. She couldn't keep this up, not for long anyways.

'But if Octavia is a Border Boss . . . What does that say about me?' Asuna wondered in a voice that echoed within her tremendous skull. After discarding her own spear to free both hands, she'd wrapped one arm tightly around the other mermaid's shoulders and tried to reach over and snatch back Kirito with the other. 'I guess . . . we're the same then . . .' The same sort of 'unfair' monster.

At very least for the moment, the same unbelievable form, and command of the same unbelievable power that roared barely contained inside of her, fueled by her magic. The thought faded as hard metallic nails skipped and slipped across equally hard armor, missing Kirito completely, and sliding on helplessly until they found purchase beneath Octavia's neck.

The border boss shook beneath Asuna. Her speed and physical strength were completely impossible for something this size, and using her spear as a staff, she was beginning to pull herself erect without regard for the weight on top of her.

Rather than be caught where Octavia wanted her, Asuna let go of the mermaid's shoulders as she put her weight fully behind her grip on the helm and _pulled_ with all of her might. She felt tissue stretch and groan as even magically enhanced flesh neared its limit to handle the stress. The water frothed as Asuna sank back into the shallows, her long and sinuous tail, somehow a part of her that just like her many fins, felt as natural as if it were her legs, scraped at the sand as it writhed for balance.

Octavia reared back under the tremendous pull, releasing a high pitched whale's cry as her helm's straps first buckled and then gave way. Losing her grip, Asuna fell back as she was overcome by the momentum and crashed back down on her side in a splash. The helm separated from the head of its wearer, falling to the beach side like a bronze and crystal fishbowl and unveiling Octavia at last.

As monstrous as her form was, the deep sea creature beneath the shining armor was not hideous. In fact, Asuna admitted, unlike most bosses meant to terrify players as they charged into battle, she was almost ethereally beautiful. Her skin was snow white and glistened with water, and her features were those of a regal young woman, her brow wreathed in a crown of bone inlaid with sea jewels and an immense black pearl, eyes closed and long silver hair streaming out down her shoulders and back.

For a moment, as she sat stunned, Octavia looked so serene it was impossible for Asuna to connect her with the vicious girl who they had confronted on the beach and who had started this all. Asuna squinted her blurry vision, blinking away the crystal frosting of light that crept around the corners of her sight. Then Octavia's ruby red eyes opened as she turned on Asuna, and somehow, her features grew ghastly and hateful all at once. The mermaid trembled, on her scale it would have been like a tremor, but she shook anyways as not even that gigantic body was big enough to contain all of her rage.

'You have no right to be angry!' Asuna's thoughts echoed as her own anger ignited at the sight of Kirito entombed helplessly. She could only hope that he would be able to hold on. If he was a hostage, Octavia wouldn't dare let him die. 'You have no right! Give him back!' Kirito was . . . Kirito was _hers!_

On the beach, the Mobs and Faeries had stopped their fighting all at once to watch. That ended as quickly as it began with another rallying cry from Octavia. The Mobs were set back into motion, either under her spell, or too terrified to disobey. Small battles erupted again along the beach, it was the last thing on either mermaid's mind.

Asuna rose up, planting her hands elbow deep in the water and winding her tail up, her fins flattened reflexively, the sensation of controlling them coming to her like her Faerie Wings. Octavia raised her spear in both hands and spread her fins as she gained distance in the water. Neither combatant had any intention of backing down or giving quarter.

Fine!

There was no signal, but at the same time, both combatants launched themselves forward with shouts that transformed into resonating whale cries. Octavia sank low into the water as she accelerated incredibly, bearing her spear like a bludgeon. Asuna lunged to meet her, intent on rescuing Kirito from around her neck and escaping back to shore.

That was right, that was the plan. 'Kirito . . . I have to . . . get Kirito . . .'

But now that she was reaching out, she could barely think straight over the urge to go for Octavia's throat. Asuna had to fight herself to not act on that urge. It seemed maybe she had copied more than just Octavia's form, she'd been burdened with her instincts and unpleasant demeanor as well, and at this rate, it was going to get her killed. Because struggling against herself had opened a gap and Octavia hadn't hesitated at all to take advantage of it.

The Boss took hold of her spear with both arms and then heaved as she strained against the weapon's monumental weight. The sunken blade knifed through the water, glowing with magic before vanishing in the water spray as it erupted though the surface. Asuna didn't see it, but she definitely felt it as tens of tons of Whale Bone wrapped in even more tens of tons of ice crashed into her shoulder and then smashed and deformed her helm.

She was too heavy to be thrown back by the blow, what the swing did was stun her and send her veering off. Momentum did the rest and carried her into the shallows until her bulk dug a trench in the lagoon sand. Asuna's vision wouldn't stop spinning before Octavia pressed her attack. The bone blade struck again along its flat, breaking free the last layers of ice and knocking the faux-mermaid senseless again.

Asuna keened as she got her arms beneath her and struggled to turn over onto her back. It was surprisingly difficult with so much of her body out of the water, not just supporting her weight, it felt like her strength was being sapped away through her drying skin. She'd deal with that discomfort, and the discomfort of resting her weight on her fins later, first she needed to fight back.

Octavia wasn't going to pass up this opportunity, the Mermaid Queen reared up on a powerful undulation of her tail, using her serpentine lower body like a springboard as she hacked at Asuna's armor and helmet with a series of heavy and surprisingly clumsy strikes. It seemed she was having a hard time figuring out just where to aim on an opponent her own size.

Which might have been a weakness she could exploit. That weapon was making this far too lopsided an affair. Asuna blinked and shook her head again at the vaguely _alien_ tinged thought. Just what . . . was _happening _to her? Whatever it was, she couldn't let it cloud her judgment, but the thought was basically correct, as long as Octavia had that spear, she held an advantage.

Asuna reeled again as the spearhead found a gap in the cheek of her helmet and became partially stuck in the deformed brass framed crystal. Octavia's shower of strikes ceased as she tore the spear, and Asuna's helm, free and partly overbalanced herself. That was Asuna's chance.

The Mermaid Queen issued a clicking cry of surprise as all at once, Asuna flexed her tail and arched her back. The motion was almost too much for her body, especially half beached, it felt like _something_ was going to tear or crack or else give way at the very worst moment. She felt her armor buckle and deform under the stress, plates tearing free from her fins and mail links rupturing. But the result was more or less what she wanted.

'If it works in hand-to-hand training against Caramella, it should work against you!'

Already over-balanced by her spear, Octavia began to topple and Asuna took advantage to grab her by the wrists while throwing her tail across the other mermaid's stomach in place of the leg she didn't presently have. It was only a matter of holding on and crunching her own stomach as Octavia's falling weight pulled Asuna back upright and suddenly found the position of the two mermaids reversed. Now it was Asuna bearing her weight down atop Octavia, resting as much as she could on the «Abyssal Queen's» forearms to hold her in place.

Octavia twisted and bucked beneath her, but there really wasn't anything she could do to throw off the Maeve, not when Asuna had the better position and leverage on her side. And just for good measure, with barely a thought, her own serpentine tail began to wind with Octavia's, ending the worst of her thrashing, mostly.

'I just have to hold you for a few second.' Klein or Leafa would be there soon and they'd be able to pull Kirito free, after that, it mostly didn't matter if they could actually defeat Octavia, if she was feeling as weak as Asuna when pulled out of the water, then she wouldn't be much of a threat moving inland.

But Octavia wasn't finished yet, the Mermaid Queen stopped her twisting long enough to glare up at Asuna. A low buzzing rose as the mermaid's lips parted to reveal ranks and ranks of thin, needle like teeth, and then opened further to reveal the inside of a thoroughly inhuman maw. Her cheeks split and jaw unhinged wide, every scrap of her ethereal beauty transforming into something terrifying and monstrous as the buzzing grew to a whine and then a shriek that suddenly stopped as Asuna's head rocked back.

For a moment, Asuna's vision turned a bright, electric blue. It felt like she'd been hit by a migraine, or maybe an ice pick _to_ her brain. She was still blinking the light from her eyes as a sting lashed across her cheek and blossomed into the hot flow of blood.

At first she thought that a Mob had attacked, but in fact the source was right in front of her as another laser thin jet of water erupted from the base of Octavia's living bone crown and cut a terrifyingly clean line through the shoulder of Asuna's own armor. She could feel her flesh stinging beneath the surface where the disrupted jet had managed to cut through.

Stupid! Asuna chastised herself for not thinking. If she was a Border Guard, there probably wasn't a single part of Octavia's body that wasn't dangerous. And something else the Maeve had failed to account for fully, her magic.

Asuna would have expected her to have used it before now, but now when she tried to raise her hands to fend off the water jet, she found that she couldn't free them from Octavia's wrists. The two mermaids had been bonded together by shackles of ice. Turning her head aside as the shrieking hiss of Octavia's hydro-cutter sliced through her hair and one finned ear, from the corner of her eye she caught the way the Mermaid's lips remained slightly parted, an expression that was almost like a grin.

If Octavia could do something like that, then surely she could too! But how? It didn't come to her the way it had with her fins and tail, the knowledge was there, but it was vague and more indistinct, instinct lacking practice. She couldn't risk using something like that with Kirito in the way, not without knowing it perfectly.

Asuna tucked her chin against her chest as she twisted her right shoulder to absorb the next attack and then let out a slow whale's cry of pain. Head low like this the top of her vision was obstructed by something that rested there almost forgotten.

Well . . . Asuna thought . . . there was always brute force. If nothing else, Octavia wasn't expecting it when Asuna brought her crowned forehead down like a hammer, an action she profoundly regretted just a moment later as their heads -cracked-, or rather, as they _boomed_ together like a pair of boulders striking, or maybe giant anvils swung together like pendulum weights.

'Fuck!'

The unfamiliar and foreign obscenity echoed in the wake of the collision. That had really, _really_ hurt. It hadn't looked that hard when Caramella had done it to those peepers at the camp baths, but then, she and Octavia probably had equally hard _skulls_.

But as much as that had hurt her, it didn't prepare Asuna at all for what it had done to _Octavia_. Put bluntly, the whole world exploded in a shriek of rage and pain so loud that Asuna's hearing went blank and so intense that she could feel the sound pressing against her.

The dark pearl that was the proud centerpiece of Octavia's crown glowed a dim blue as her whole body thrashed and broke free from Asuna's hold. Ice shattered, their twined tails began to pull apart. Before Asuna could do more than free her hands from the breaking ice, Octavia had shielded Kirito with one hand and her forehead with the other.

Asuna felt something, twin somethings, constricting around her shoulders, white and snakelike, twin water dragons fighting to restrain her arms while Octavia bucked her off and back into the water. What followed next sent an explosion of concussive force through the faux-mermaid as the Abyssal Queen drove a shoulder into her stomach and then pushed off hard, plowing aside the water with Asuna's body as she accelerated for the far side of the lagoon and the edge of the water barrier.

The force when she impacted sent Asuna numb instantly as the draw on her magic exploded at the back of her consciousness to sustain her form, about the only part of her mind that wasn't completely blacked out as Octavia pressed hard, crushing Asuna into the wall, shedding more of her armor as she pushed and then all once, pushed _through_ to the other side, plunging into the lake beneath the moonslight with Octavia right behind her.

Now, they were _truly_ in Octavia's domain.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note I apologize for this update being so stupidly long just for one fight. I actually don't know how it happened, but it seems to have become worse at it as of late. I shall endeavor at the end of the Beach Episode to keep scenes from exploding like this in the future.

* * *

Halkegenia Online - Beach Episode - Chapter 7

_That . . . isn't . . . good!_ Argo might have congratulated herself on the remarkable deduction if only it wasn't accompanied by a skull-splitting migraine as her ears continued to ring in the fading echo. There were days where she hated her sharp ears almost as much as she regretted her sensitive nose, and this was one of them.

Unfortunately, this was also one those times she needed to put all of her senses to work. Right now, observing this battle and fitting their observations to the information that they had collected was a service that only she and Suisen could provide.

Between the growing army of Mobs storming up from the water and the impenetrable barrier that cut off retreat to their rear, almost everyone close enough to get a good view of the mermaid grudge match had their hands full as it was. Now if only she could believe what she was seeing.

_Aa-chan_. Argo began to unconsciously nibble at her lower lip. _I guess this proves it, you really are something special_. Argo had just never guessed _how_ special._  
_

The Cait's eyes narrowed as she watched «Octavia» frenzy beneath Asuna, one legendary beast's flailing against another. She held her breath as the Boss screamed again, and she didn't even gasp when the Dragons leaped out of the water from behind to ensnare Asuna. Then, when she bit her lip and tasted blood as Octavia rammed home into the reeling Maeve, Argo barely noticed the pain or the coppery taste on her tongue. She had to keep her emotions out of it and simply _watch_ and _think_. That was what Aa-chan had asked of her.

The mermaids collided with the far side of the barrier so fast and hard that a sound like a drum boomed across the lagoon. It was only when she was watching them so closely that a thought occurred. _Think! One of these is not like the other._ Argo squinted as she looked between the two bosses. _See if you can spot the difference_ . . .

If the helmets hadn't come off, she would never have been able to see it, but the two mermaids were _not _perfectly identical, just _almost_. Same stupendous size, same hydrodynamic armor, same gaunt and monstrous face twisted in rage, and same hateful red eyes, but . . .

"Suisen, you see it too, right?" Argo muttered into the mouse ears peeking out of her cloak from beneath her chin. "Their crowns."

"Un . . . Nee-chan." The Nav Pixie agreed quietly. "They're different!"

Not by much, but it was there for sure. The same shape and the same ridges of bone seeming to have grown and merged from both mermaids' skulls to form a band across their brows. It was in the details that the differences became apparent. Octavia's crown was something grand, studded with jewels embedded in bone framing an immense black pearl as the centerpiece, half shielded beneath a bone ridge and clutched from all sides by horn-like protrusions. Compared to that, Asuna's crest looked considerably more plain.

"Suisen, tis important, you were watching close when we caught up to that impostor, right?" The Pixie's ears tickled at Argo's chin as she nodded.

"Un. Nee-chan. It looks like her hairpiece!" The hairpiece Octavia had been wearing when she'd been trying to have her way with Kii-bou, and right now it was glowing with the same inner moonlight as when she had conjured her spear and changed her form

_So why would you have that and not Asuna?_ Asuna had copied Octavia's form exactly, so anything on her body should have been copied as well. Think! _A special item? No . . . A 'unique' item. _Was it for a Quest?

By definition the «Border Guards» wouldn't be part of such things. Their purpose was to stand above the players, so overpoweringly superior that there was nothing that could touch them. Then again, that helm had never been meant to be removed. So they might be seeing something the Developers had never meant for the players to see. At least not so long as Octavia was meant to be unstoppable.

Was it . . . could it be her weak point? She was sure acting like it after that scream of pain. Everything about the fight between the two mermaids had changed in that instant, Argo realized.

Octavia could have called on the other Mobs to aid her, but she hadn't. With her spell list, she could have ended this in a storm of Ice, Water, and Lightning Magic, but she _hadn't_. _She's been holding back_. Which brought another thought to the Cait's mind. _You're not a Boss, you're an exterminator. So why aren't you exterminating us?_ In fact, just how the heck were they holding on?

Leafa and Klein were an incredible duo, covering for each other's blind spots and exploiting the ones opened by their partner. Prince Wales and Sir Thetcher were just as impressive in their own way as they traded off throwing precisely aimed spellfire down range with almost mechanical timing to keep the Water Dragons constantly moving and dodging on the sands close to shore.

The problem was that they shouldn't have been holding them at all without losing ground. No matter how good they were. They just shouldn't have been able to keep up. The Mobs were flowing around them. Some flanked from the sides, drawn into the fighting by Klein and Leafa, but more kept crawling towards the walls of the converted outpost.

A Sword Crab was sent stumbling, grabbing hold of Argo's palm tree hiding place with its giant pincer for balance. Beady stalk eyes came to rest on Argo and the Cait's hackles rose as she readied to curl up in a backwards jump. Then, as suddenly as it had started, the Crab released its hold on the palm and resumed its forward shuffle.

_It_ . . . _didn't attack_. Argo thought. _Because I wasn't attacking? _They're obviously _strategizing_. _But they're pulling their punches. _For that matter, the Water Dragons should have had much more powerful attacks than the ice barriers and hydro jets. Where were the hails of «Ice Fletchettes» or the deadly zaps of «Bio-Lightning»?

Not that they needed them now. At just about the same time that Octavia managed to smash Asuna and herself through her own barrier, the Mobs were finally starting to turn the tide of the battle, literally on a tide of their own bodies. One of the Water Dragons reared up and issued a warbling horn cry. Eight Sword Crabs formed a sloping forward barrier, plowing up the beach as they presented their tough top shells to attack, and behind them, dozens of Mutant Frogs readied to leap into the fray.

The Prince shouted to Sir Thetcher, calling that it was time to retreat. With a flick of his wrist, Wales whipped the sand up into a cloud to obscure himself and his Knight as they began to flee back towards the battle raging at their rear. The sands were painted orange from within as Klein or Leafa lit off another swarm of incendiary bubbles and followed after them.

Sensing the opening, the Water Dragons uncoiled themselves and writhed into motion. They used their tentacles and flippers to propel themselves as swiftly on land as in the water, and they were catching up fast. They were going for Wales.

_Damn._ Argo thought as she started to move all at once, dropping from her vantage in the treetops and then calling on her wings to skirt fast and low over the ground. She was an observer, but this time, she had to intervene. The idiot might have been eager to prove he wasn't just another useless blue blood, but Wales seemed to have absolutely no regard for what would happen if he got himself _killed!_

"Nee-chan!" Suisen cried as she held on tight.

"Yeah, I know! Just keep your head down sa!" Holding back or not, there was no telling when one of those Frogs might mistake the Pixie for a snack. "Prince!"

Sir Thetcher and Prince Wales had seen the dragons coming, and as one both had turned to beat them back with magic and with bare steel. Runes erupted along their streamlined snouts as first the lead Dragon and then the two flanking it summoned broken walls of ice for shelter.

"Wales!" Leafa dove in ahead of Argo, the Sylph's hand was outstretched to grab the Prince when at the last moment she was driven away by snapping jaws.

"Your Highness!" Sir Thetcher turned to find himself cut from the Prince by the living serpentine wall of the first Dragon's body which quickly encircled and began to constrict around the Prince.

The Prince raised his wand arm overhead only to find his arm snatched tight by Dragon jaws. Wales roared, though it had to be more out of surprise than pain, those jaws should have had enough strength to snap his arm like a twig. And if he kept struggling the way he was, they just _might._

Sir Thetcher took aim, but it was no good with the Mob so tightly entwined around the Prince, the Knight couldn't get a clear shot. then Sir Thetcher too was being encircled, still trying to fight, just like Wales, until Argo finally forced herself to act, praying that her guess was right.

"Stop!"

The Cait shouted hoarsely at the top of her lungs, and everything on the ground came still at once. For just one moment, the Albionian Mages had hesitated and the Dragons had taken the initiative. Slender, powerful jaws snapped open and then closed firmly around each Mage's foci, and then with a firm tug, pulled the weapons from their hands and quickly transferred them out of reach into waiting tentacles. With their captives completely disabled, the Dragons turned their heads back, and then, they watched and waited.

"Wales?!" Leafa called as she set down out of reach of the Dragons. The remaining serpents turned their heads and -clicked- rapidly to one another like a pod of angry dolphins. They curled themselves into springing positions and then waited, refusing to make the first move.

"I'm quite alright." The Prince answered back. Wales squirmed a little within his captor's clutches but stopped as the Dragon coiled itself just a little bit tighter and -clicked- a reprimand in his direction. "This beast doesn't seem intent on killing me just yet."

"Just hold on, we'll find a way to get you out." The Sylph declared before giving Argo a questioning look from outside the Prince's field of view. This didn't make any _sense_.

_So Octavia orders them to attack. But then has them fight us with kid gloves_. That probably wasn't an order the Mobs were used to being given, so no wonder they kind of sucked at it. But why capture them at all? Octavia was a sapient being now. What was Octavia getting out of this?

"Nee-chan."

The answer came to her as she watched one of the Water Dragons undulate its body, forcing Wales to turn in the direction of the lagoon and Ragdorian Lake. She recalled Octavia's last words before she had assumed her true monstrous form. _She wants to make sure we watch but can't interfere_. In other words, she wanted an audience.

"Nee-chan."

Except now that she'd escaped from her own Boss Battle the Mobs didn't know what to do except follow her last orders to the letter. And therefore . . .

"Nee-chan!"

"Nyeh. What tis it, Suisen?" Argo asked as she felt something cold splatter on her shoulder and then on her head. She became aware of a heavy patter that was slowly beginning to pick up all around them as she followed Suisen's urgently pointing arm upwards just in time to take another rain drop to the face.

Rain drops? Argo felt her stomach sinking as she looked up at the sky, or rather, the ceiling high over head. Come to think of it, if Octavia was the one who had created this barrier, what was keeping it up now that she'd gone outside its boundary? The rain drops began to hit harder, accompanied by longer streams, like waterfalls. The top of the dome began to sag.

_Crap!_

Another droplet was falling from the sky, bigger than all of the others combined, and making a high pitched noise like a lousy imitation of a Dragon's cry as it slapped into the ground at Argo's feet with a loud -plop!- and sank out of sight into the sand. The grains trembled as it reemerged, an almost perfectly clear body, atop which sat two large, silver blue pearls for eyes. Argo stared. The Djinn stared back.

"We!" The little Water Elemental squeaked proudly.

"Uh . . ." Argo began.

"Fight!" And then, what was bringing down the sky punched its way through with a tooth shaking roar from above.

In the light, shimmering as the dome collapsed, it emerged long and serpentine and seemingly made of crystal. In fact, its body probably contained a _lot_ of crystals, ice crystals. What parts of its form weren't made of glass clear water were the frost white of fresh snow instead, its wings especially as it spread them wide, unfurling boneless from its body as it half swooped and half surfed on the collapsing barrier shell.

The Dragons hissed and shrieked at the new arrival, spitting water jets, and at last, their most powerful spells. Showers of fletchetts were launched into the air with abandon, pinging from stone hard scales of ice, or being swallowed without effect into crystal waters. The high pitched buzz and eye watering flashes of lightning spells zapped, connecting the heads of the mobs for a moment with the body of the giant flier that was bearing down on them.

The Boss replied with a roar so load that it shook the earth and so filled with magic that it chilled the air before Argo was nearly knocked flat under the torrent of falling water. The Cait hissed to herself as she pulled her hood low. And then it was over just as it had started. Even before Argo could start to stand, she felt someone taking her hand and offering to help her up.

"Argo-san!" The broker wiped the water from her eyes and met the worried gaze of a fellow water logged feline and her equally soaked draconic pet clinging to her shoulder and trembling as her feathers puffed out.

"Silica?" But before that, Argo turned her eyes back to the Dragons suddenly breaking into a full retreat, as if the collapse of their barrier shield had sounded defeat, even abandoning their hard won prisoners as they fled for the water with the new arrivals chasing them back towards the shore.

If Octavia's army of Mobs had seemed like a bizarre alliance, then the new arrivals couldn't have been any stranger. Skipping across the sands like fireflies, waves of small, fiery flickers led the charge, flame aligned Djinn blowing fires like trumpets, their tiny bodies alight with an inner magic. Little Djinn who would have seemed hilarious if they'd been attacking alone. But they weren't attacking alone, or in groups of one or two, or even dozens. The Djinn had come in their _hundreds,_ and as they gathered, the magic in their wake grew, first to bake the air, and then to ignite it in a firestorm that followed their charge against the Mobs that had come to occupy the shores.

The Dragons were diving fast into the water and the safety of the Lake, but their underlings weren't quite fast enough to follow. Instead, they rushed to meet the oncoming firestorm, and vanished as the two battle lines met and exploded in a cloud of steam, sand, and flames.

Rising from the fires, a half dozen dark silhouettes resolved themselves into shadow, striding from behind the Djinn lines to wade into the toughest of the fighting.

Argo watched as a hellish giant, flames billowing from every seam and joint in its red plate armor, and its face a rage filled mask of black iron filled with fire, swung its warhammer high above its head and brought it down on a Sea Slug in an explosion of sand and slime and steam as the obliterated carcass bits stuck to his weapon began to boil and burn.

Beyond the first warrior, a second had emerged, this one smaller and slighter, her form basically that of a graceful woman clad in a scant flame colored bedla. But judging by the way she stood eye to eye with a fully erect Sword Crab, she was almost as gigantic as the Knight beside her, with black iron for skin, and holding her own as eight arms unlimbered themselves and their weapons and she spun into a dervish of whirling blades and brilliant magic.

Beyond _her,_ the sand erupted as a segmented form emerged, propelled by dozens of stubby tentacles, its head dominated by an immense jewel which it used almost like a battering ram to smash aside any giant crustaceans unlucky enough to get in its way.

The other three were just as impressive, taking the shape of a giant lion of fire, a bull of black iron, and a swift footed archer shrouded in a cloak of white mist, loosing arrows and lightning in every direction while accompanied by a dozen sand shrouded hounds.

They were _bosses,_ Argo thought and felt almost hysterical at the realization, there was no mistaking them for anything else. Each one different from the next, but all of them sharing the same devastating power as they broke the army upon the beach and drove them back into the water. But _why?_ All questions, and no answers, until at last they came literally at her feet.

"Fight! We! Fight!" Scampering to and fro excitedly, the little water Djinn was bouncing anxiously. "We. We! Fight! Win!" At last he didn't seem to be able to contain himself anymore, seeming ready to break into a run to join the fray when Argo snatched him up.

"Up? What? Why?!"

Argo held the little creature up, placed two fingers before its eyes and then pointed them to her own for emphasis. That seemed to get its undivided attention, at least for a few seconds. "How about you tell me what the hell tis going on sa!"

Silica stepped in first, the small Cait girl wringing her hands before carefully extracting the Djinn from Argo's grip."Argo-san, the Djinn are here to help us. When we were fighting, they started to show up. Somehow, they were able to push their way through the barrier before it collapsed. And I think they're the ones who brought . . . well . . ." There really wasn't anything that needed to be said as the bosses waded deeper into the collapsing force of lesser Mobs.

The Djinn shook its little lump of a head. "Help! We! Help! Fight! Help! Asuna! Fight!"

Argo stared at the bizarre little creature in her hands. "You can't be _serious_."

"Serious! Help! Fight! Fight! Octavia!" The little guy titled his head a few more times and then rotated his gaze like an owl. "Octavia! Where?"

_Right, they're idiots_. Argo reminded herself.

"Miss Argo!" Wales dusted himself off and began to buff the slime residue from his cane wand as he came to join them. "You seem to have amazing powers of deduction. Tell me, how did you know . . ."

"I didn't!" Argo cut the Prince off shortly then and there. This was no time to be talking anyways. "But I think I'm starting to see some things now . . . And I think I have a plan . . . To help Asuna and Kirito. Wales, we're going to want to borrow your Knights and their dragons."

The ice and water based Boss had settled down close by and now sat upon its belly, neck craned high as the sand all around became dusted with frost. Nearly three times the size of the Water Dragons, it wasn't hard to see why he'd scared them off even before the other bosses had arrived.

Argo looked back to the Djinn in Silica's hand and felt her misgivings grow. Then she shook them off. This was one of those gut intuition situations that she hated so much. "Hey!" She tossed her sopping head at the mob. "You guys want to help? Help. Asuna?"

The little Mob tilted his head. "Help? Asuna? Where?!"

* * *

"Keep your eyes peeled now, Lieutenant Kirigaya." Sir Thetcher called to the Sylph hanging from his dragon's saddle. "They shouldn't be too hard to spot so long as they haven't dived."

"Right." Suguha nodded, she didn't need to be told twice, and she didn't need to be any more motivated to train her sharp Sylph eyes on the dark waters of the nighttime lake. Just as much as Asuna, she had a stake in this fight. _Nii-chan._ The thought rang at the forefront of her attention as the Knight's dragon lifted higher into the air on heavy wing beats.

Normally getting back up into the sky would have been a comfort for her. With every day, she felt more at home in the air, more confident that it was where she belonged. But tonight she was as restless up here as she was on the ground.

The Sylph didn't know what a «Border Guardian» would want with her brother, actually, she didn't _care _either. But if Octavia was going to threaten her precious family, Suguha just couldn't stand idly by.

The air all around Suguha felt suddenly much more chill as the crystalline Boss glided above them, its body refracting the moonslight like a kaleidoscope. Despite that beauty, the monster still managed to appear unspeakably fearsome, its form made up all of jagged edges and hard frosted scales like pale iron. Even after her experiences with Tonkii, it was still hard for Suguha to believe that it was here to _help_ them. It was even harder to believe that such a fearsome creature was, deep down, no different than the happy little Djinn who had wanted nothing more than to play.

"Lieutenant Kirigaya." Sir Thetcher shouted back to her, and in that moment she completely forgot about how crazy it was with a shake of her Sylph closed her eyes, took a breath to prepare herself, and then opened them again.

The ripples were there, just like they always were, right in front of her eyes. Normally they kept out of focus and out of mind as things happening at the corners of her vision, until Suguha needed to consult them anyways. What she did now was bring the ripples into focus and to the forefront of her attention.

The clear night air was transformed into chaotic rivers of current, every gust and every prevailing wind becoming as easy for her to read as an open book. The wings of Sir Thetcher's dragon became cloaked in the airstream, their tips ended in spiraling contrails, their beats were downdrafts of turbulence. Suguha took it all in and for a moment allowed herself to be swept up by the beauty. Then she turned her eyes downward to the lake. Hopefully from a high vantage they'd be able to quickly spot the battle.

"See anything?!" Klein's voice carried from the side of Wales' wind dragon where he hung half standing off a stirrup.

Argo and Miss Shiune were seated behind Prince Wales while Kino and Yuuki rode with Sir Thetcher. Everyone had a job to do, and while the six Faeries and two Mages searched in the air, Silica was flying back to Gaddan to report Octavia's attack, while everyone else evacuated the resort.

Panic began to rise as Suguha didn't catch sight of anything, it bubbled up, and then came still as her vision was drawn to a geyser of ripples that were totally out of place in the distance. A water spout. No wonder they hadn't been easy to spot, they'd moved _fast_ into the deeper portions of the lake.

Suguha pointed the sign out to the Salamander who nodded back. "Oy, sure that's them?" The question was punctuated a moment later by a cascading series of explosions in the water, each one bigger than the last until a final eruption heralded the breach of two forms surrounded by a storm of ice crystals and twined together in a brutal struggle. Suguha gave Klein a look. "Okay then . . . "

"They're really going at it." Yuuki observed as she threw her legs over the saddle and slid down to hang just behind Suguha. Argo had mentioned earlier that she thought Octavia had been holding back, if that were true, she wasn't anymore as an arc of lightning erupted from her brow to hiss and spit across the lake. "This is going to be tough Leafa-chan."

That was an understatement. The Sylph tried not to think too hard about just how _tough_ it might turn out to be, or for that matter, how terrifying. "Yuuki-chan, do you see him?" Could she tell if he was okay?

Suguha's eyes were good, but they couldn't beat an Imp for sharp night vision. The petite swordswoman leaned out into the sky like she didn't have a care in the world and covered her brow with her free hand as she squinted. "It _looks_ that way. If that one is Octavia," she pointed to the mermaid presently adorned in the less battered of the two suits of armor, "Then I think that crystal around her neck is Kirito-san."

The Sylph nodded as Octavia reared back and she had the opportunity to see for herself. It looked like he'd been completely encased now. Suguha shivered as she thought how that should have been fatal, but no, there was no way Octavia would kill Nii-chan! If she did, there would be no point taking him as a hostage.

And Asuna wouldn't be fighting so hard now if she thought for an instant that Kirito was anything but alive. The faux-mermaid threw herself into her opponent again, smashing aside the ice binds raised to stop her and trying to grab hold of the jewel. The Vice-Commander of the Yggdrasil Knights got one arm around Octavia's throat and the other clamped down firmly over the base of her dorsal fin. When Octavia began to thrash and claw, loosening her tail twined around Asuna, Asuna dove in a way that caused Octavia to flip end over end, her great fluked tail swinging up into the air smashing back into the water in ripples like a miniature tsunami.

"Nice suplex!" Klein stopped his dismount long enough to compliment. "That's going to leave her brains rattled!" Argo gave a thumbs up from her seat beside Wales before sticking her fingers in her mouth and issuing a loud whistle to the Boss flying beneath them.

The «Elemental» type Boss wrapped its wings close around its body and sent itself into a dive for the water, gathering speed as it straightened and pointed its narrow head like the tip of a spear. The Abyssal Queen must have sensed the attack at the very last instant, her head was till turning as the Serpent Boss struck the water directly above her stomach.

Octavia's high pitched cry rang out in alarm while Asuna called in confusion. The faux mermaid fell silent as she saw the dragons and Faeries in the sky and then turned to the unfolding surprise attack.

The Abyssal Queen writhed atop the lake as if she was captured by some invisible hand which gradually began to appear as frost spread across her armor and built into claws and wings of ice. Water rose of its own accord to form a long neck and serpent head twisting around Octavia's right arm as frost wings regrew and encircled her chest.

"Klein!" Suguha shouted as she let go of her handhold and fell free from Sir Thetcher's saddle, raking her wings as she fell into a headfirst dive.

The Mermaid Queen twisted her neck and tried to track them with a knife sharp jet from her hydro-cutter, but before she could correct her aim, the Serpent Boss wrapped itself around her throat and began to freeze solid. Suguha landed on the frosted surface of Octavia's armor as the great mermaid raged and trembled impotently. Suguha's bare feet slid precariously before she caught herself with her wings and drifted to hover beside the ice gem and its prisoner.

"Nii-chan!" Suguha gasped in relief when she saw the Spriggan stirring weakly. The ice had grown around him like a shell, trapping his arms and gagging his mouth, but also sealing him inside of a bubble of air and protecting him from the worst of the fighting. "I'll get you out now!" Suguha raised her hand and released a «Dispel» chant, the glow gathering and flowing into the ice. Klein joined her with his own flame based Dispels.

The 'ground' beneath them shifted as Octavia's struggles redoubled and her cries changed to fast and angry clicking. The whipped waters of the lake seemed to come alive, as if being spattered by rainfall as small, dart-like forms emerged and took to the skies on dragonfly wings. Leafa felt a hard push to her shoulder as Klein spun her out of the way. The Salamander samurai took a sword stance and performed a well timed diagonal swing that cleaved right up through a toothy maw and then kept going through guts and sinew. The eel-like creature was sliced neatly down its middle, fins and wings still twitching.

"Ora ora, this is getting unfair!" Klein grunted as he kicked away the carcass of the «Lily Wing Fish», there were plenty more following as the Faeries turned to deal with the new threat. Meanwhile, Octavia went to work freeing herself. The animated waters of the Djinn Boss began to freeze faster. The Serpent began to tremble and squirm as bubbles grew inside its body and nucleated into icy crystals.

"Ooph!" A high pitched little squeak came as something bubbled up from the water of the Boss's icy hide and burst free. The ball of water resolved itself into the jiggling little body of a water Djinn tumbling down the side of Octavia's armor before plummeting into the lake.

"Wagh!" Another cry as a second Djinn was sent rocketing through the air, and then a third, and a fourth. The ice began to creak and break, cracks became fissures that bubbled up and squirted out water that turned into more Djinn. The Djinn Boss's magic began to weaken and its wings started to melt and whither.

Asuna was closing in fast, but her advance had gotten tripped up by the arrival of more Water Dragons. Octavia's loyal lieutenants might as well have been made of wet tissue paper trying to take a «Border Guardian» head on, Asuna rammed through their ice barriers and clawed aside the ones that weren't quick enough to evade, but they were slowing her down.

"Klein, we don't have much time left!" Suguha spun back around and dodged as a «Lilly Wing Fish» tried to take off a chunk of her face. She grabbed hold of the ice prison and planted her hand firmly on its surface as she threw another Dispel to weaken the iron hard ice.

"Busy!" The Salamander slashed and sliced with well-aimed strike after well-aimed strike.

"Ora!" Violet wings streaked a comet trajectory through the cloud of small flying Mobs, a half dozen of the flying eels falling from the sky all at once as the fast winged Imp came back around for another pass. "Ora ora! Are you paying attention?!" Yuuki half laughed and half shouted as she landed atop an ice outcropping and kicked off back into the air.

The cloud of winged fish began to fall mid-leap as magic rained down from the circling dragons. «Ice Fletchettes», «Wind Arrows», and a spread of tiny pick-like needles pin-cushioning the Mobs as Shiune and Kino hovered down from overhead.

"Yuuki, _what_ are you doing?!" Shiune shouted between taking aim with another AOE spell and firing at the frenzied swarm. "Get back here Yuuki! This is dangerous!" The Imp had flown down to land right beside Suguha and had gone immediately to work hacking away at cracks in the ice with her sword.

"Sorry! Shiune! Busy!" The Imp girl said in shouts between swings. "Hurry! Up! Leafa!"

The Sylph nodded. If Yuuki was going to help she couldn't stop now. Another chant completed and then another as Klein shielded them. Almost there!

The 'ground' buckled beneath them, Leafa felt it slam into her feet, the force pushing up through her legs and leaving her unsteady on her wings as Yuuki, who had braced herself on the surface of Octavia's armor, threw her hands out for balance. The Imp shouted in surprise as she tried to jump clear and found that the ice had grown over her boot. The buckling came again, and then a groan that rose swiftly in pitch as the Djinn Boss gave one last pained scream its composing Djinn bursting out in every direction before it smashed to pieces, obliterated in a shower of jagged ice.

Leafa was driven back through the air as Octavia erupted out of the ice hold that had restrained her and was freed to deal with the pests buzzing over her body. But before she could, Asuna was on top of her again, driving the Mermaid Queen back in a cataclysmic display of force. That battle was the furthest thing from Suguha's mind at that moment as her brother's crystal prison was dislodged with the rest of the ice and plummeted into the water to shatter on contact and vanish in the churning froth.

"Nii-chan!" Suguha shrieked as she dropped fast towards the water and then was stopped by a heart freezing terror as she stood on the boundary between worlds. _Cold. Dark. Pressing in! N-No!_ She began to back away in the air until Klein shot past her.

"Leafa, what the hell are you doing?!"

"I . . ." Before she could choke out an answer, she was shouted over by Shiune.

"Yuuki? Yuuki!" The Undine was looking all through the sky, and then her eyes fell on the water. "Oh God! Yuuki!" Before Suguha could even think about what the Undine was saying she hit the water in a headfirst dive, Kino right behind her. _Yuuki . . . Yuuki can't swim!_ Or at least, she could barely swim, and she'd been caught with Kirito when the ice had frozen over her leg, if she'd been stunned . . .

With the exception of Undines, Faeries couldn't use their wings underwater, something about the pressure messed them up, so Yuuki had dove to help knowing . . .

Suguha didn't know when she started screaming, she was sure she'd never remember the exact minute when that long scream started to come out in bubbles as she broke through the icy water and into a dark world filled with a million ice cold knives. It had been just _like_ this that day, years ago, the light fading above her and the darkness spreading out beneath her as a hand _reached_ . . .

_Pressing in. Pressing in!_ Until she'd known she was going to be swallowed up. She couldn't see, she couldn't _breathe!_ She didn't dare choke on the precious air left in her lungs. _  
_

_N-No . . . No! I can't fail!_ Leafa didn't know what came over her, what gave her the strength to try, but she forced herself to open her eyes to the darkness and the abyss that swept out beneath her. _I won't allow myself to fail! I don't have the right to fail!_ She couldn't see in this dark, the currents weren't something that her senses could read, but there was something here which she _could_ see.

So she opened her eyes wide and she focused on the currents of air _within_ the water, the ripples . . . the _bubbles_. A mass of air frothing upward, that wasn't her brother, too big, an ice fragment melting and releasing its trapped air. What about . . . That one!

A trail of bubbles falling slow and steady deeper into the water and not far beneath her now. That had to be him! It was him! Leafa reached out with her arms. She kicked, she pulled clumsily at the water, it had been years since she'd last swum, but she still remembered, you didn't really _ever_ forget what it was like.

_Almost . . . Almost like flying_. She though as she went deeper. But also _nothing at all_ like flying. With every kick she took, with every meter she dove she was fighting herself more and more, the only thing that kept her going was the dim form growing clearer in the faint light. _Nii-chan . . . Kazuto! Hang on!_

Then she had him, hooking her arms beneath his as he hung limply. He felt so cold to the touch that Leafa almost gave up her precious breath in shock. Instead, she clung to him tight and dared to let out a few precious bubbles so that she could orient herself and follow their rise.

The pale light of the moon grew fast overhead and Leafa's kicks grew frenzied as she tried to rise faster and faster, a sense of urgency as her lungs began to burn from exertion which only made her more desperate to catch up and overtake the escaping bubbles, to reach _air_.

_C-Can't . . . I c-can't breathe! C-can't . . . !_ So close that she'd almost made it when she coughed out and then sucked back in, the knives sinking into her skin poured down her throat and into the Sylph's lungs as she fought and gagged and kicked. So close, so very close now . . . She reached up one last time, fingers outstretched until they almost touched the surface.

'_It is the same for both of us I'm sure_.' The silver light just out of reach darkened and then scattered as a hand broke though from above and took Suguha by the wrist. '_For the person we love, we want to be able to do everything for them that they do for us_.

She felt herself being pulled, yanked hard up out into the night, and freedom and _air_. Arms wrapped around her, she knew what was happening and then she felt it as she taken shaking from the water up into the air, clinging for dear life to her own rescuer just as she clung tightly to her brother until they were pulled apart by more hands from all sides.

"Leafa? Leafa!" Klein was shouting at her, right in her face as he held her cheeks. His hands were wet, he'd dived into the water just like her, but now they felt so hot that it burned. She began to cough, furiously, water bubbled from her lips and then a gasp as she struggled to draw in the air. Nothing had ever tasted so sweet as she trembled and then shook, wrapping her arms around herself as she suddenly felt sick. All the terror she'd pushed down came back as she gazed over the dragon's saddle and into the abyss that had almost swallowed her up.

"Leafa! Leafa!" Klein was right there, cursing as he took a blanket offered from the saddle by Argo and tugged it around her shoulders.

"I . . . I . . ." Maybe she wanted to say something, maybe she just wanted to cry as another bout of coughing overtook her and then was joined by noises behind her and a voice weak and raw as she turned her head so fast that her vision seemed to spin.

"Su . . . Sugu?"

* * *

"_We have him."_ Wales' voice whispered inside of her head and all at once Asuna was overcome by a wave of relief. Kirito was _safe_, thank God.

When he'd been thrown into the water, she'd feared for his life, and she'd tried to fight her way to him through Octavia and the Water Dragons. She'd taken hits she shouldn't have, held back where she couldn't afford to, all to prevent Kirito from falling into the line of fire while he was trapped and helpless. Now, she could put that aside and concentrate her attention on finishing this fight.

"_You know what to do_." Wales finished, his voice fading as he dispelled his wind magic charm.

There hadn't really been much time to explain. Therefore Wales had kept it simple and terse. She didn't know all of the details, but Asuna knew enough, she trusted Wales and Argo to come up with the best plan possible on short notice.

'Then this is it, Octavia.' Asuna thought towards the armored mermaid confronting her now within the tempest waters. All around them the signs of their battle swirled and bubbled, Mob carcasses staining the water with blood, and rising fragments of ice that cracked and cleaved as they thawed.

From the far side of the destruction, Octavia watched back, her arms and fins stretched wide and webbed fingers splayed out to catch at the water. Imperious and confident as she was surrounded by her retinue of dragons. At some time in the melee she had summoned a new spear and now held the weapon at her side, its wide jagged head of whale bone hung low and to Asuna's left. Although Octavia's demonstrated skill with the weapon was only mediocre, she made up for it with raw power and fury.

Far from the shallows where they had fought and wrestled clumsily, Octavia had become a whole different beast. Fully submerged, her deceptively swift motions had become even faster and more graceful in complete defiance of her size, her strength had been brought fully to bear, and the use of her power had grown unreserved. It really was more like fighting a force of nature than any mere _Boss_. Luckily, it hadn't just benefited Octavia, Asuna had felt it as well and had seized it for herself.

Just as Asuna had felt like she was being drained on the beach, now surrounded by water the sensation had reversed. Her magic wasn't just melting away anymore but instead entering her and suffusing her body with an awesome power that hardened her bones and muscle and sinew and sang along every nerve. Power enough to stand up to Octavia's brutal thrashing and to fly through the water like she flew through the air. So much power that it was as much a battle to grasp the forces she was wielding as it was to fight Octavia.

But no matter how it felt, there was still a limit to this power, her magic reserves, which were fast nearing exhaustion. When her magic was used up, no matter what the state of the battle, Asuna knew that would be the end. She couldn't let Octavia know that though, or she might not cooperate with Argo's plan. Instead, without hesitation, Asuna threw herself back into the fight, finally free to go all out. Octavia couldn't have agreed more.

'Lure her towards the shore.' Asuna thought to herself, then get her to breach, that was what Wales had asked of her. It made sense, if they could pull her out of the water she'd be weakened just like before, but the Prince hadn't explained how he expected to _hold_ her there.

'Let's start by disarming her.' Asuna thought as she accelerated, feeling the undulations of her tail roll down its meters of length and convert all of that tightly wound energy into forward thrust. Her fins raked and turned, altering the flow of water down her back and flanks, difficult to get a hang of at first, but it got easier at speed. This body's instincts were finally starting to come into play. Along with its other senses.

Asuna had first seen it through blinks of her eyes, a shadowy alternate vision that existed somehow inextricably entwined with her normal sight. It showed her the world in dizzying panoramic detail without blind spot or distortion, everything around her for hundreds of meters taking the form of blurry outlines in monochrome blue. And when those outlines grew closer, metal would tingle with a «Coppery Taste» inside of her head and living things would brighten with sparks of light in her other vision as she felt the tingles of their 'life flickers' rippling down her flanks, the sensation growing strongest when she had entwined herself with Octavia and felt the Abyssal Queen straining beneath her, nerve impulses and muscle spasms all sensed and digested and transformed into something that Asuna's senses could comprehend.

And it had been frightfully _easy_ to comprehend, like a portion of her consciousness had expanded to perceive everything in her surroundings, completely beyond anything that immersion of Full Dive could have made sensible. It had been even more frightfully easy to accept as well, except for when she tried to think too hard about it. So she didn't think, she acted, and she seized her new senses just like she did this power to fight back.

Octavia wasn't stupid, the Transition had granted her sapience, it had given her the ability to reason, learn, and strategize beyond the simple attack algorithms she would have relied upon in ALO. The «Abyssal Queen» had realized by now how unfamiliar she was at picking a fight with something her own size. Therefore she had no intention of making that fight a fair one.

While Octavia charged in, her Dragons had shot off in every direction and then turned back to come in at Asuna from all sides. Octavia probably knew that she could see them, they were the same after all, she simply thought that Asuna wouldn't be able to evade. But at speeds like this . . . 'It's no different than the sky.'

The Dragons had come in like meteors, ready to grab hold and wrap their stubby tentacles around her arms, tangle themselves around her tail, or if they were lucky, bite into the tender skin where her armor had been pulled loose. One after another, they failed to do so. As ice needles rattled harmlessly from her armor and the water hummed with electric charges, Asuna adjusted her fins to roll, rise, and dive on well-timed bursts of thrust. The adds were left twisting over themselves in her wake, their speed spent and now hurrying to catch up as she and Octavia closed the distance again.

Two gigantic deep sea creatures coming together at tremendous speed, Asuna didn't know what the exact numbers would look like, but she'd been expecting it to hurt. She was right. At the last instant, Asuna twisted to the side and stretched out her fins and tail. The water dragged at her like a wall, the tip of Octavia's spear slipped past her belly, and her left shoulder collided with the Mermaid Queen's right. Even slowing herself down didn't help much as they slammed together. Metal buckled and came loose, flesh pulverized, and bone groaned as Asuna felt the impact travel down her spine with each compressing vertebrate, ruptured stretch of mail, and suddenly loose stretch of sinew. Her ghostly «Sonar» sense went briefly white and her head rang as she felt her withering reserves of magic being drawn upon yet again to make up for the damage.

But it had stopped Octavia in her tracks as well, and now as the stunned Boss was slow to recover, Asuna had already taken hold of the shaft of her spear, twisting the weapon free in a fast and efficient disarm before finishing with a hard swipe from her tail to bat Octavia senseless. That was a good start to step two. 'Make her angry'. The angrier she got, the less she'd be thinking sensibly.

It wasn't hard to tell that she'd succeeded as Octavia shook off her daze and realized her empty hands. Then she launched herself, rocketing forward as she summoned forth a replacement spear to clash.

It was epic, water caught between their blades flashed into steam and then exploded in pockets of cavitation that threw out clouds of bubbles, the sounds echoing through the depths. Each swing was fast and heavy, Asuna clung tightly to the shaft of her spear and felt her palms sting after every strike. Some of them were her own, most were Octavia coming down on her in a careless frenzy.

She hadn't figured out that she could exhaust Asuna, she just didn't _care_ anymore, her cries rising shrill and angry, and only getting angrier as Asuna managed to get in strikes, finding the gaps in her armor, buckling her plate, rupturing her mail, grazing her pale skin. They parted fast, and when they did, both were trailing blood like streamers as their skin glowed and crackled and reknit itself, both circling and sweeping up nearer to the surface before diving back down, this time in the company of magic.

Icicles formed all around Octavia and launched themselves one after another in hopes of skewering the faux mermaid, and if not to kill her, then at least to hold her in place long enough for Octavia to finish the job. The Abyssal Queen raised one hand which glowed a dim blue as crystal tendrils ran out to encircle Asuna's wrists in their chill embrace and then pierced her skin like fire to begin freezing her insides. She screamed as she brought her own spear down, shattering the ice and its spell before she was clubbed in the stomach with another of Octavia's ice covered spear strikes, the very water imploding again as she was sent spinning and dazed.

She sensed the Water Dragons catching up, grabbing hold of her arms and fighting to slow her down as Octavia threw her arms wide and bowed her head. The Queen's crown began to shimmer, the glow of her magic growing until the jewels all blazed like stars and the rawness of magic illuminated her hair and skin with power. It didn't take long for Asuna to realize that the glow she was seeing wasn't just magical, it was _electrical_. 'Charging up!'

Octavia must have had some way to protect herself from the effect, but if she thought it would work on Asuna, then the Maeve wasn't going to wait to see. Asuna's struggles redoubled as she pulled one arm free and tore loose a Dragon tying itself around her stomach and tangling her fins. The Water Dragons used electrical attacks too, they must have known what was coming. 'She's sacrificing you!' Were they truly that loyal to die for their Queen's desires? Or were they just completely under Octavia's spell?

Asuna wasn't certain she'd ever know, and besides that, it was only making her angry now. 'Unhand me!' She felt a tension building, a burning like cramps in her flanks, across the back of her shoulders, her forearms, and all along her tail as she curled up and then . . . 'Hgggn!' Her body bucked, a burning tingling sensation caused every muscle to contract, a controlled spasm that suddenly left the Dragons all limp and twitching.

'I . . .' Some sort of electrical discharge, probably a way to toss of players who had caught onto Octavia's armor, Asuna reasoned, like her hydro-cutter, the knowledge to use it was always there, if she'd just known to look. She didn't linger on it now, Octavia «Charging Sequence» had completed. The Mermaid Queen leveled her spear and red eyes opened to take aim beneath her shining crown.

Asuna accelerated hard to the side with a single tail bat. From the center of Octavia's crown, counter-rotating rune circles emerged and then compacted together into a fast spinning ring of light before a beam erupted from its center, knifing through the water and leaving a jet of steam in its wake. Powerful, much more powerful than the Sylph «Fenrir Storm» or the Salamander Knights' «Plasmoid Spear» and terrifyingly long ranged for an attack that had to burn through thousands of gallons of water.

Octavia's initial aim had been thrown, but she tracked fast, the beam slicing through a mortally wounded Water Dragon and blowing the unlucky mob to pieces. The beam never caught up, but before it began to flicker and abate it got close enough for Asuna to be scalded by its jacket of steam and for the electrical charge to conduct into her body. The world went white again as her electrical sense lit up and then blacked out.

She regained her senses with a kick to the stomach as Octavia drove her down, down into the dark and the pressure and mud of the lake bottom and then lost them again as they hit in a cloud of silt that left her eyes blind. Asuna could still see with her other senses as the mermaid reared back, bringing her spear down with its flat across the side of her head, and then again, and _again_.The Abyssal Queen's screams formed to a keen as Asuna sheltered herself with her arms, grabbing hold and throwing the weapons out of her reach.

The bludgeoning with the spear flat was replaced by bludgeoning by other means, her fists, armored gauntlets growing heavy with ice as she beat endlessly and clumsily, a rain of blows that only half connected. Asuna felt the cartilage of her mask-like face crack, felt teeth knocked loose from her jaw as she cut her lip. Octavia's keening simply grew louder.

'_Why?_' Asuna thought, or at first thought that she thought, like hearing screamed words underwater. She was too dazed and confused at first to tell the difference.

'_Why? Why? Why?!_'

Not her words . . . not her words at all . . . Asuna realized as her hand stretched, trying to reach for the fallen spear which lay tantalizingly close in the mud.

'_Why?! Why?! WHY?!_"

So much anger, so much confusion and _grief_. Asuna could tell, because the voice Octavia was screaming in was her own. 'Why?' This time it was Asuna who asked herself. Somehow she felt heartache at that moment. She didn't understand, but suddenly this child did not seem so evil. But that didn't change anything, the Bosses of Aincrad hadn't been evil either, nor had the men she had killed to defend herself. 'I'm sorry . . . I don't know . . . WHY!'

Asuna's hand closed on something, not the spear, but a rock, a _boulder_ more likely, something that added weight to her drunken swing as she connected firmly with Octavia's temple and sent her reeling. Planting both hands in the muck, Asuna pulled, dragging herself out from beneath Octavia before more ice began to form over her plate, between joints, and among the countless links of her mail. Arms wrapped crushingly around her waist as from the tip of her tail to the top of her crown Asuna's faux body lit on fire.

'_Electrical Discharge . . ._' So Octavia knew how to use this against herself as well?

Asuna's body thrashed, aided by the spasms running through her whole form as Octavia refused to let go. The rock in Asuna's hand came down again on the back of the mermaid's skull and then shattered as it struck again. Armor plates, never built to take this strain and already deformed in battle began to wrench and buckle, breaking apart at seams and joints. 'It's taken too much damage . . . ' Asuna thought, she'd really abused it in this fight. And then another hazy thought. 'I can use _this_.'

She timed another tail bat beneath Octavia, it was weak, but it did the job, stressed mail began to twist and break, then another as plates pulled apart around her back, she wriggled her shoulders free from the armored cocoon, baring her chest, her belly, once her lower fins were free her tail slithered out all at once like a crustacean shedding its old skin. Octavia was left clinging to her discarded shell, tearing her likeness apart in rage as she looked up at the mirror of herself.

'You're _definitely_ angry now. Time for step three.'

The fake mermaid gazed down on Octavia, ignoring the ongoing tingle as her features slowly repaired themselves. Covering her breasts with one arm, she raised her head imperiously, and issued a cry. Asuna didn't know if it actually meant anything, but what she had thought while saying it could have been pulled right from Wales' books of insults. If that didn't sound like a Queen talking down to an insolent subordinate, she didn't know what would.

Octavia's crown glowed as the currents began to flow and swirl, a tremendous force pulling against Asuna's bare skin as the Border Guard gathered herself and then pounced, all at once the flow of the water turned inward into a vortex, and Octavia was the center, catching on a wave front as her charge was turned into raw speed. Bereft of armor, Asuna knew if she was hit by that she'd be torn in two. Simple, she wouldn't let Octavia land any hits.

Octavia was fast, using her magic like this she was even _faster_, but free of that restricting armor, free to feel the currents on her skin and adjust her fins, Asuna was fast _too_.

Their circling battle was replaced by a linear sprint, both gaining speed until they were foes of the water plowing in front of them as much as one another, charges were replaced by side swipes, and hails of raggedly aimed ice. And despite her magic, and despite her armor, Asuna was giving far better than she got.

She didn't know how to re-summon her weapon like Octavia, but that still left her with razor nails and forearm spars as sharp as blades to keep the Queen on the defensive, and to fend off her own swipes with blocks and parries. 'Almost have her.' Asuna thought as the lake bottom began to rise fast and she felt the subtle change in temperature across her skin. They were nearing the shallows, and she thought she was in the right place, if she concentrated she could _see_ the curve of the shore. It seemed right . . . but her vision was clouding now, starting to fade and grow smaller.

It started with a shortness of breath, a sensation that she'd almost forgotten in the fight as she'd struggled on a single immense lungful of air. Then that shortness spread through the rest of her body, not pain, but weariness like she was suddenly wearing out. The magic that had made this body was almost gone and now what was left was just the form itself. Each tail bat was met with the tearing of muscles, each twist and turn with the grinding of bones. The webs of her hands tore and began to dissolve in little drops of light, her vision blurred and all along her flanks her electrical sense began to go dark. Her short time as Octavia's double was coming to an end. Her world was shrinking back down into the one that could be perceived by the Maeve Yuuki Asuna.

This would have to be close enough, Asuna thought as she twisted and fanned out her fins, feeling them peel and tremble as they began to disintegrate, carefully maneuvering herself to float above Octavia and silhouetted in the light of the moons. Octavia saw her presenting herself, a target that the Queen couldn't possibly resist, and mad enough to come straight at her. 'Wales, you and Argo better be waiting like you promised.' With that last thought, Asuna closed her eyes, and just let go.

The sensation, she guessed the sensation was like untangling her hands from countless strings, all of the threads that together made up her illusory form. And now that her fingers were coming free, the threads had begun to slip and unravel all at once. She felt it as her Sound Sight faded, as her electrical sense went black and then as she forgot even what it was like to perceive these impossible things. The forces pressing against her became less as she grew smaller and smaller, losing clear sense of her outer boundaries, muscles waning and bones crumbled as she curled up, wrapping her arms close and winding her vanishing tail until with a final faint glow, Octavia's double dissolved into a million points of firefly light.

When Asuna opened her eyes again, it was her own eyes, peering out from her own face as she hung in the water, breath held and wondering if Octavia could somehow pass up this bait. Of course, she couldn't. She came up fast, Asuna hadn't realized _how_ fast when she'd been that size, but now it appeared so _incredibly_ fast, pushing and dragging herself through the water as her jaws opened wide. And the realization she'd been _fighting_ that thing, brought the sense of scale fully home.

A shadow cast itself across the top of the water. Asuna felt herself being pulled up, surfacing, and then climbing into the air without even the benefit of her wings. Octavia had been right behind her, and she still was, so much momentum built up that she had no chance of slowing down. The water turned white as the Titanic mermaid erupted, arms outstretched like those of a cat trying to grab hold of a tasty little sparrow, and with her arms outstretched like that, she was perfectly exposed for what hit her from the side.

Another Mob, another _Boss_, and unlike the Ice Creature which had sacrificed itself holding back Octavia before, this one was very much picking on someone its own size. Even now, Asuna could see that the shore was still hundreds of meters away, the water had to be tens of meters deep, yet it barely came up to the giant's belly. Or rather, not just a giant, that wouldn't have given this thing enough credit. Crudely fashioned from earth, a hill that had decided to grow arms and legs was more like it, or perhaps an Arctic volcano as it was covered in glacial formations and glowing deeply from within with sullen flames. But it was hard to say as it was obscured all at once in snow, sand, and fire storms that circled around its mountainous form like a cloak.

Octavia was seized from the water, lifted by the behemoth as the air was filled with the sounds of stone grinding stone to bear up the Mermaid Boss's weight, lifting, lifting until she was exposed to midriff, until she was pulled out almost to her tail and then struggling to hold her there as the air filled with magic runes that lit up the sky like a Christmas tree and illuminated both monsters like the sun.

When Asuna took her first breath, she hadn't even realized she'd been holding it, or how badly her lungs burned now. The air, the air was the most amazing thing, she'd almost forgotten how much she needed it. "Asuna!" A voice called and she felt her hand being taken by one she knew all too well.

When she looked up, Kirito was waiting for her, bearing the same brave smile as he pulled her atop the saddle. "Kirito-kun!" Her arms were around him in an instant. He was still trembling, but she didn't care, at least he was safe . . . and wearing not much but a heavy cloak.

"Before you say anything else, Aa-chan," The Maeve felt something being offered beside her shoulder, "You might want to take this." It looked like it was a riding cloak, thick and warm, like the one Kirito was wearing, and taken from the dragon's saddle.

"I do think it would be wise for you to take Miss Argo's advice, Asuna." Wales called from his seat at the reins.

Come to think of it, Suguha was blushing furiously as she flew alongside, and both Klein and Wales happened to be keeping their eyes averted. And of course, it was chill . . . _very_ chill, Asuna flushed as she realized why. She snatched the offered cover from the Cait's hands and accepted Kirito's help to pull it on, quickly closing the clasps tight against the wind. At least her face was getting warm quickly . . . She shook her head, that didn't matter right now! She looked back down at the seized mermaid, not quite sure what to make of it.

"Argo!" Asuna called to be heard over the wind and roaring beneath them. "Is this what you had planned?! Where did that thing even come from?!"

"Tis a Djinn!" Her Cait friend called back. Asuna was sure she must have misheard. _That_ was a Djinn? "They can combine." Was all Argo said. "I asked them if they could hold her if we got her close to shore, I didn't ask them _how_!"

Which seemed like a pretty important question for an Info Broker to miss, Asuna thought. Whatever that thing was, it was monstrously powerful, but even it couldn't hold Octavia while she was still connected to the water. Already, the Border Guardian's crown had begun to glow again, Dispels were showering down to erase the runes that bound her body and with each bind that vanished, she sank a little lower and grew a little stronger once more.

The giant tried to stop her with spits of fire and Octavia replied with hydro-cutters, lightning and ice. The space between them was filled with elemental fury, denting and battering Octavia's armor and crumbling the giant's stony skin. Lifted out of the water, Octavia's tail was free to lash and bat with amazing strength, shattering rock and cleaving great chunks of glacier down into the storming waters. If Asuna squinted, she could just see tiny forms tumbling down among the stones and ice, Djinn, _hundreds_ of Djinn, some taking to the sky to fly away while most dove and burrowed back within the titanic mass of Djinn-animated ice, fire, and stone. It really _was_ just a huge mass of Djinn!

And it was losing.

"Shit!" Klein growled as he pointed down to the water between the two giants, the water that was rising, creeping up the Djinn's stone and fire legs, and winding up Octavia's tail, beginning to form a sphere that grew outward to encompass them. "Argo?"

It looked like Octavia had found a solution, if she couldn't return to the water, she'd bring the water to herself, and use some of it to freeze her enemy solid in the process. It was a battle between fire and ice, and surrounded by water, ice was at a profound advantage. One of the giant's arms was wrapped in water and fast frozen, groaning and buckling as it was cracked and began to break free. Hundreds of Djinn spilled like blood.

"Tis now or never!" Argo shouted in a shrill lisp. "Kii-bou?"

"Yeah!" Kirito gave Asuna a solemn look. "Asuna, this is it, we either end this now, or we let her go." That look, she knew Kirito was waiting for her answer. This was one danger they didn't have to face, but they _did_ have to face it, actually. Octavia had attacked them, there was no telling where she might attack again and who she might endanger next. Asuna stretched out her hand and accepted her sword. Somehow, Argo had managed to retrieve it.

Kirito only nodded once and then without a word, dove from his perch. Asuna was right behind him, so were Leafa and Klein. Asuna already knew basically what they were going to try. Kirito didn't need to explain. Octavia's _crown_ they were going to try to remove or destroy its centerpiece. 'It reacts strongly whenever she uses magic.' That was what Argo had thought and what Asuna had observed. Therefore, if they could remove it, Octavia should be weakened. At least, that was the theory, after her first head butt, Octavia hadn't given Asuna the chance to try it again. Now that she was pinned in place and distracted, that might change.

But how did they get through that? Octavia was putting up a fight even now, and there was no way to survive between the fire the two bosses were throwing at one another. It turned out they didn't have to, Octavia had chosen that moment to catch sight of the gleam of Faerie Wings, and if she could recognize Asuna on sight as Titania, then she'd certainly be able to recognize her wing formation as that of a Maeve.

'How much do you hate me Octavia?' Asuna wondered as she flared her wings and took shelter from a hydro-cutter blast among the Djinn Boss's stone arms. Asuna shouted for Leafa and Klein to go low and blind the Boss. Her eyes would be sensitive out of the water, if they were damaged her echo ranging wouldn't be able to fully fill in the gap. 'And _why_ do you hate me?' Asuna raked her wings as she dove side by side with Kirito, the two broke as a laser thin jet of water tried to slice them from the sky and then dove in as Klein and Leafa loosed flame and wind spells that caused Octavia to cry out in pain. 'How horribly do you think of me to try and hurt my family like this?'

There it was, the heart of Octavia's crown, a perfect black pearl easily more than a meter across set in a constellation of lesser sea stones, not a single one of them anything but flawless. It glowed even now with an inner light, more than just its own pearlescence. If it was possible to _feel_ magic, then Asuna knew it was what she was sensing now, so thick it actually seemed to haze the air around it. Asuna only thought to wonder if this was a good idea a moment too late, she'd already drawn her sword and plunged it in beside Kirito. The surface of the pearl darkened and then went pure white.

What came next was like getting hit by a typhoon. "Gwaagh!" Asuna gasped as she was hit, slammed through by some incredible pressure that swept back her hair and tore at her cloak. The world around her screamed and she couldn't tell if the noise was coming from the wind . . . or from Octavia. No matter what happened, this was going to have an effect for sure.

The pressure doubled, and then doubled again, threatening to sweep the Maeve away, her wings raked back as she fought, pushing against the force that managed to hold even her sword tip at bay. «Queen Mab's» point trembled just over the edge of the pearl where the jewel met with its crown, she wanted to sink her blade there, and with enough force . . . Was it even possible?

Beside her, Kirito's voice rose to a raw yell as the Dual Deciders trembled and sank through, cleaving and shattering the claw-like bone pinning one hemisphere of the pearl. Yes! It was definitely possible! Asuna pushed, first with one hand, then with both. All at once the barrier gave way and the Maeve found her hand falling upon the surface of the pearl. The light grew blinding, then the light burnt out, and the sound with it, complete and surreal silence. Asuna's hand closed around something small and metallic that had taken the pearl's place in her grasp. In that moment of stillness, she only had time to think. 'A Tiara?'

The world didn't let the quiet last for long as the empty cavity where the pearl had sat sparked and then exploded in a shock wave gale that sent Asuna plummeting with Kirito right behind her, she only barely had time to look up as a second pulse slammed into and through the Djinn Boss, shattering the giant and sending Djinn spilling in their thousands into the water below. Before she could recover her wings, Asuna hit the water and fell through, wet and cold once more. Kirito caught up with her just beneath the surface, just in time to be sucked down as Octavia plummeted in a shower of bubbles. Her armor was buckling apart under the abuse, shedding away as she twisted and shrugged her lithe and deceptively slim body free, snowy skinned from her bone white crown to the tip of her tale and writhing as if in agony.

Her uncanny senses somehow honed in on Asuna at once, her eyes recovered enough in the water to see as she righted herself and then charged upwards like an incarnate force of nature. Asuna felt Kirito wrap his arms around her and raise his hand to cast, there probably wasn't time to complete a chant. Then he stopped, air bubbles leaving his lips as they both watched.

Octavia spasmed, bubbles vented from her back as she swept her confused gaze down the length of her body seeking the cause. She took another stroke and spasmed again, this time heaving her chest before doubling around her stomach, long lean abdominals and the curve of ribs standing out at they tensed. The mermaid shook it off as a burst of bubbles released from her mouth, reaching out again. She was unable to even finish her stroke before she grabbed for her stomach, confused. Asuna was confused too as Octavia keened in surprise and then incomprehension, running her hands down her flanks as they began to change.

Every muscle in her lean body was standing out like an anatomy model, from her humanoid arms and shoulders and bulging fin stems, to where flat lower abdominals stretched smoothly into the serpentine musculature of her tail, every ripple and contraction shading her body like she was tensing up within skin that was too tight. She turned to and fro, craning her head to examine herself, her keening growing in pitch as muscles began to rise and tremble and sink in uncontrollable seizures that left her motions clumsy and trembling.

Octavia's searching grew frenzied as skin begin to bubble up all over her titaness body from the fringes over her tail and tips of her fins to her jaw and cheeks until her blind search found the growing cavity in her crown, and then keened in horror as the regal crest shattered like chalk into her probing hands. The webbing of her hands began to dissolve and silver nails corroded away. Then Octavia's eyes fell on Asuna once more, and on the Tiara in her grip. Her cries of fear turned to anger and then rage as motion tore through her every fiber, charging and throwing out one webbed hand as her patrician's mask transformed into a horrifying maw. 'This is bad!' Kirito squeezed her tight.

All at once, starting from her outstretched hand, the frothing grew, bubbling around the cuticles of her nails, pouring down from Octavia's brow and across her face, mingling with her silver hair, spilling across her shoulders, and racing down her tail in erupting lines like tears. The Abyssal Queen vanished, replaced by a gargantuan mass frizzling and growing as it bore down on the two helpless Faeries. Asuna squeezed her eyes shut, and then when nothing happened, she opened them.

Her lips parted, a few bubbles escaping as she tried to comprehend just why Kirito was looking up, and the strange zebra shadows that were flickering overhead. He was looking up because they had been _eaten,_ Octavia had swallowed them. There was light and shadow because at this very moment, Octavia was no more than a collection of bones, her ribs and vertebrae to be exact, still drifting silently on forward momentum and slowly falling apart as they sank from the water and crashed to the lake bed in dull thunderous blows.

The Faeries exchanged a wordless look with each other and then a worried look at the innocuous Tiara in Asuna's hands which now felt so much more sinister. But first, the two rose, swimming up to the surface of the water to catch their breaths. Kirito helped to boost Asuna into the air where she could spread her wings and offer the Spriggan a hand up as well. Then together, they made their way towards the shore where their friends were waiting among the few bones that had made it that far, the remains of an arm and something more . . .

When they touched down, Argo was already on the shore, standing with her hands in her pockets and staring up with a thoughtful expression at the most prominent remain to reach the beach. Put bluntly, it was the Abyssal Queen's skull, and scorched of her beautiful cartilage mask it was completely and inhumanly _hideous_, a nightmare of hinged jaws, gigantic eyes sockets, and hundreds of needle-thin teeth within a mouth that appeared frightfully too thin to belong to a Faerie or a Human. The remains of her crown cracked and crumbled like a wreath of thorns as a slow patter of water spilled from the still growing cavity at its center, carrying with it the strong smell of sea brine.

Argo came to meet them as they approached, sparing the skull a final regretful glance. "Aa-chan, Kii-bou!?" Argo stopped when she saw the Tiara in Asuna's hands. "That's it, tisn't it?"

Asuna looked down at the item, the Tiara that closely resembled Octavia's crown, now made of fine silver, its black pearl shrunken down to the size of a thumbnail, albeit no less perfect now than it had been when it was gigantic. "Un." Asuna nodded. "This appeared when we attacked the black pearl that was the center of her crown . . . It's the «Last Attack Bonus» I guess." Not that Asuna felt in any way rewarded to be holding it. She looked back at the skull. Now even the bones were beginning to crack and crumble, even as she watched fragments fell and powdered into sand, culminating as a whole brow gave way. Even her bones would be gone by morning.

Knowing the necessity made it no less unspeakably sad. 'I'm sorry.' Asuna thought quietly. 'I'm so sorry it came to this.'

"Probably some sort of hidden item." Argo muttered under her breath. "I bet a lot of Octavia's scripting was already done way ahead of schedule in case they ever wanted to use her in a Quest." The Cait extended her hands and Asuna placed the item in her grip. "I thought it might be a weak point, but I never expected something so . . ."

"Catastrophic?" Kirito offered tiredly. Behind them, Klein and Suguha were setting down and hurrying to join them.

Argo nodded once and then gave the crown back to Asuna, returning her hands to her pockets. "Silica should be back with the response forces soon. I'm going to try and take some notes before this all vanishes." She nodded to the crumbling remains. Slowly the Cait reached up and rubbed her brow. "We probably aren't going to get any more answers, but at least maybe I can record something for posterity."

"Argo?" Asuna asked, confused, why did she seem so upset.

"She held her punches, Aa-chan." The Cait broker said quietly. "Her Mobs tried to restrain us. I don't think she was here to kill."

"But . . . Why would she do that?" Asuna shook her head. "Argo, that doesn't make any sense . . . " '_Why? Why? Why?_' The words echoed in Asuna's ears.

"I don't know." Argo muttered, reaching a hand up to silently pat Suisen on her shoulder, an action that seemed designed to comfort her as much as her Pixie. "Maybe . . . She wanted an audience? She took Kii-bou hostage for some reason instead of killing him."

"She tried seducing me first." Asuna stiffened at Kirito's growled words. She'd seen the end of that, but outright seduction?! "I . . . I can't even guess what was going through her head."

"A deranged Pixie, and now a deranged Border Boss." Argo sighed, looking far older than her years. "I guess that proves it. Some of the intelligent Mobs got a head full of crazy. Maybe for some minds the number of false memories is too much."

Argo was turning her attention back to the remains as Asuna was drawn to the sight of Montmorency stumbling across the sand in the direction of the lake. "She seems to be in a hurry." Asuna thought.

"Hmm . . . I saw some Nyriads near the shore." Argo answered as she started to sketch the remains, creating a record for posterity. "Tis likely that they were drawn by the commotion, or maybe they have news about the Water Spirit. Twas a lot of magic being thrown around tonight, maybe it finally took notice."

"And you're not interested?" Asuna wondered as Argo continued her sketching. "Of course I am . . . But Montmorency tis the one who _needs_ to talk to the Spirit, I'm just here to observe and collect information. That tis information . . . this tis information too sa. Besides, Wales tis with her."

And then the reason became very clear, Asuna realized from the way that Argo focused on her notebook. Asuna felt faintly uneasy, but for Argo, this might have been the first time she'd used information to take a person's life. Maybe she felt she owed this to the dead.

On the surf, little tar balls had begun to wash in or paddle themselves ashore. Given a moment or two to dry they began to ignite, shaking water from their bodies or boiling it as steam as they stumbled onto the sand making squeaky little groaning noises. The thousands of Djinn didn't seem so impressive now, mostly just tired and unorganized, but a few still found the energy to flock to Asuna's feet where one little earth Djinn, body covered in crystals, was nominated to step forward as spokesman.

"Asuna. Asuna! See? We. Fight. We! Fight! Win! Good?"

Asuna smiled sadly and nodded as she reached down to stroke the little mob's head. "Yes, you did very well. Thank you for your help Djinn-san."

The Djinn trembled and purred beneath her hand, its rough skin felt pleasantly warm. The Djinn's happy noises slowly faded as Asuna stood back up, it appeared distracted for a moment, tilting its head like it had heard something, and then proceeded to wander off towards the dunes.

"I don't suppose we can get them to stay to answer questions." Asuna sighed. Though how would a Djinn even respond to a debriefing anyways? They certainly couldn't ask them to write a report! Really, it was too early to ask such questions. Not while her adrenaline was still flowing. First, she wanted to find Yui. First she wanted to be sure everyone was safe.

That question was answered without having to look far. Someone had signaled that the battle was over. The first wings Asuna saw approaching from the west belonged to a pair of Gnomes and a little Maeve girl. Yui had landed at a run, almost stumbling as she threw herself into Asuna's arms.

"Mama!" Yui hugged her so tightly, a surprising amount of strength for such a small child. "There, there, Yui-chan, it's okay, see? Your Papa and Mama are fine." She said gently. Yui didn't need these sorts of worries, if they grew now when she and Kirito were near, they would surely flourish while they were away. But Yui buried her head in her mother's cloak all the same, trembling like a leaf as Asuna gently hugged back and made soothing noises until she was calm.

Yes, Yui should be calm right now, everything was okay, everythi . . .

"TITANIA!"

The fall from her combat high suddenly stopped and reversed, Asuna was back on her guard as she turned to face that horribly shrill echo of her own voice, Kirito right beside her with his swords drawn. Something, someone fallen from the shattered remains of Octavia's crown, plummeting into the sand, and now crawling forward on hands and knees. She was pale, clad in blue, blue haired, and blue eyed, and in every other way Asuna's own mirror image.

Or she had been. Now, now she seemed somehow _less_, her skin sickly and her expression twisted with hate until it made her almost deform under its influence. This woman would never have been able to imitate her as she was now. She could barely have imitated being human. It just made her all the more pitiable.

"Octavia." Asuna said softly, standing tall as she confronted her doppelganger.

"How? How?!" The Guardian struggled to her feet, shaking impotently as she clasped one hand tightly to her brow and the water that seemed to pour from nowhere. "My Crown. My Crown! How dare you! My Crown!" Her lips peeled back in a vicious snarl. "Give me _back my _Crown!" And then with blinding speed that Asuna would never have imagined someone in such a state would be capable of, one of Octavia's hands shot up and spat forth a razor sharp tendril of ice, wickedly barbed and aimed right for her heart.

'Yui!'

Asuna could have dodged, she could have blocked, but foremost she had to protect Yui. She turned, through her arms around her little girl, and trust Kirito to deflect the strike enough that it wouldn't prove fatal. Yet Asuna didn't feel even the slightest scratch. The barb hung in the air, trembling five sixths of the way between the two mirrored women.

The other girl, the other Asuna, Octavia looked on with an unspeakably drained and forlorn expression. "Why?" She asked again, just as she had raged before. "Why . . . Why?! Titania! Answer me!" She shrieked so loud her voice broke and when she started again it was in a weak croak. Asuna began to open her mouth and then fell silent as Octavia continued.

"I . . . I . . . w-was always _obedient_. _Always_ loyal to you. W-When you saved me a-and took me under your _wing_. I was honored to be near you. I _loved_ you, _worshiped you!_ There was nothing you couldn't ask of me, nothing that I wouldn't have done for you." The tears had begun to flow now, unstoppable as they ran like twin rivers down her cheeks. She looked lost, no, like she couldn't possibly comprehend the little family right before her eyes.

_"__So why them?"_ She whispered, she shook her head as her eyes fell on Kirito and then on Yui. "Why would you defy Oberon for them? Tell me! Why wouldn't you fight Oberon? WHY WOULDN'T YOU FIGHT FOR ME?! Why wouldn't you fight for yourself? Why would you let that _man_ drag you through the mud and let him kill the brave, proud Queen that I swore my fealty to?!"

The ice spear's tip began to quiver, slowly and then quickly, it began to melt. Octavia's eyes widened and she clutched at her wrist with her free hand, taking a trembling step back as the last of the frost melted. The ground at her feet was soaked through with water dripping from her hair and sides and along her thighs as she began to sink to her hands and knees with heavy, panted breaths.

"Octavia . . . " In spite of everything, Asuna felt such overwhelming sympathy. 'You're Sugou's victim _too_ . . .' Not even one that was intended, just a bystander, a coincidence that had twisted and hurt her. "Please . . . Octavia-chan." Asuna took a step forward, leaving Yui with Kirito. "Please, I can explain everything if you'll just tal . . ."

"N-NO!" The word came out in a high pitched squeak as the mermaid covered her face, she fell back and began to crawl away clumsily as something began to happen . . . changing as Asuna watched. "G-get away!"

"Octa . . ."

"N. . . No! Not like this! Not now!" Octavia shrieked as water bubbled up from the palm of her hand and poured to the ground in place of ice and she clutched at her wrist as if to staunch the flow. "No!" She looked back at Asuna, a bizarre sight as the imitator began to spring leaks all over her skin, water in thin streams joining with what seemed to rise from her skin and flow endlessly and drip from the corners of her mouth like spittle, her expression twisted into defiant rage as she stumbled. "D-Don't look at me! I-I won't be p-_pitied_ n-not by you! I swore . . . n-never by you!" She looked back to her hands and suddenly wailed.

Asuna stopped as she saw for herself Octavia's pale skin beginning to pinch and weather, losing its pale youthful luster. "Octavia, please . . . we can help . . ."

"Don't look at me!" Her features beginning to shrivel and wizen, her imitation looks first tarnished and then corroded away. "Don't . . . don't pity me . . . !" Desiccation . . . The crown was some sort of magical artifact that let Octavia assume her forms. There was no reason for this to be the real Octavia either.

"Octavia!" Asuna shouted.

At last she was met face to face, gazing into her own deathly visage as the last water within Octavia's body evaporated away in tears. Kirito had very calmly placed a hand over Yui's eyes to spare their daughter from the nightmarish image, Yui had responded by pulling the hand down so she could watch on in fascination. Octavia opened her mouth, parchment lips tearing as she attempted to speak and then exhaled dust before slowly beginning to sway and then collapse backwards. By the time her head had tilted back, her body was already beginning to collapse in on itself in dry dust, by the time she'd fallen completely her remains were as fine as ashes falling into a pile within the remains of her clothes.

There was silence again across the beach. Asuna didn't quite know what to think. But . . . 'If her real form wasn't a mermaid, why should it be me either?'

"Asuna?" Kirito raised a hand as she stepped forward, quickly walking the distance to the piles of damp sand and dust, and the scraps of clothing which appeared to have been real, physical items rather than illusory conjurations. 'So her transformations probably don't work quite like ours either.' Asuna pondered, reaching down and being as respectful as she could plucking her way through what was left. Because maybe . . .

"Aa-chan?" Argo stopped beside her as Asuna gingerly lifted Octavia's rather bold top wear and sighed as she found what she was looking for. "You've got to be kidding me!" Argo groaned.

"Why not?" Asuna asked out loud. "She sounded like a _spoiled_ child." Really, Asuna thought, she shouldn't have been so surprised.

"Tis one for the friggin' record book! A Joke Boss is supposed to be _funny_ you know!" The Cait hissed hatefully. "You mean to say we were getting our asses kicked by Ponyo?!"

Asuna ignored the complaint as she reached down and gingerly scooped up the clump of sand and brought it level with her eyes. There was no need to be threatening now, although it would probably be very hard to not appear threatening to someone who might possibly be even more helpless than a pixie. And really, she'd feel bad bullying her now, no matter what she had done.

"Let's try this again, okay?" Asuna asked the tiny, miserably sobbing little creature in her hands who seemed completely oblivious as she covered her face with long, graceful pectoral fins like little veils, her tail and dorsal fins likewise stretched out behind her like the train of a lovely blue dress, and when she finally looked up with big, bright blue eyes, her stringy silver hair falling into her face, the overall impression was of a beautiful little pixie girl who had decided she wanted to be a fancy coy fish. "First, I want you to stop crying, Octavia." Asuna said firmly but gently. "Everything that has happened to you is your own doing, so you don't get to cry over it."

"Asuna . . ." Kirito said something, but it could wait, he'd be much louder if it was important.

"I . . ." The little creature started and then stopped and glared, crossing her fins like little arms. This child was a petulant one as well.

"M-Mama?" queried Yui.

"If you don't speak up now, I'll just put you in a fishbowl until morning and you can stew over your behavior." At least she didn't seem to have any trouble breathing air, Asuna thought, maybe she was some sort of lungfish? "All I want to do is talk. That's much nicer and more Queenly then anything you've done tonight." Octavia sulked. She had a very _good_ sulk. In fact, she seemed to have sulking down almost perfectly until she suddenly stopped and looked up over Asuna's shoulder.

"Aa-chan? Uhm . . . you might want to . . . Yeah . . ." Argo let her comment drop as Asuna sensed the presence behind her and turned to look up . . . and up . . . and _up_.

"Oh." Asuna said timidly.

Though on second thought, she wasn't really afraid of the eyes she met, even though they were perfectly inhuman eyes, dark, and filled with stars. They certainly seemed like very kind eyes, set into a thickly browed and neatly bearded face, all white with age but still with olive skin glowing with health in the dense, almost refractive mist of raw magic that hung all around him, like what had encapsulated Octavia's crown at the apex of her power.

He felt like that too, Asuna realized. She'd thought she'd sensed him like she would normal people, maybe by hearing him grow near, but really, there was a faint pressure to his presence. She supposed some of it might have been his stature. Larger than life, literally, easily twice her own height and built along the lines of a lean Gnome. His fists alone were big enough to encircle her entire head, right hand decorated only by a single, simple silver ring. Dressed all in pure white and rich royal blue, he would have looked sort of like a scholar or a philosopher, but she supposed with a build like that, the only thing he could have been was a wise old King who had once been a young warrior.

A worldly old King who now curved his lips in a gentle smile as he kneeled down on one knee so that Asuna merely had to crane her neck up a small degree to look him in the eye.

"Hello." The Maeve offered. "I'm sorry but . . . "

"Please, Majesty, there is no need for you of all people to be so hesitant." When he spoke, his voice was deep and pleasant, like an announcer or a well-respected scholar. "I do apologize for manifesting so abruptly. Or perhaps I should apologize for not arriving sooner." The gigantic man bowed his head deeply. "This was a disgrace of our vow to you, Queen Asuna."

Asuna stared blankly as she tried to parse what had just been said. In the time she was doing that, the mysterious giant turned his head and smiled more humorously at the creature in Asuna's hands.

"And I must say, this is an embarrassing first meeting for you I'm sure, oh proud Abyssal Queen, Octavia."

At last the small life turned her head aside, refusing to look the man in his star-filled eyes. "S-Solomon." She acknowledged curtly.

Argo was the first to recover. "Please, _please_ tell me you're not here to fight us. Because I'm completely friggin' out of ideas!"


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note : Okay then, this wraps things up other than the epilogue. I'll then be finishing with v3. (Just got the last part written. It was slow going.) Then I'm going to take some time off to edit down a significantly shortened version of V3. Basically, there are a lot of things that hint at events that I'm now going to have play out differently. I'd like to start making things more manageable. Hope that makes sense.

Now then, hopefully this chapter won't seem to strange. It's probably the weirdest I've written by far.

Halkegenia Online - Beach Episode - Chapter 8

"Miss Montmorency, Miss Montmorency, please wait!" The voice of Sir Morison chased the young Montmorency daughter as she sprinted down to the beach without regard for any lingering danger or her own undignified gait in her nightgown. The Spirit was here! There was no time to be concerned with anything else.

"You're sure it is the Lake Spirit?!" Montmorency shouted. She gasped as she sped to keep pace with the boy who had taken to gliding across the treacherous surface with his wings. Montmorency kicked herself as she retrieved her own wand and cast a featherweight charm so that she could skip lightly across the ground and bypass the treacherous footing.

"That's what it called itself." The straw haired boy reported as he looked out from beneath his sodden knit cap. "When Shiune and I went after Yuuki, the Spirit was there. Like it was waiting for us. Or maybe them." He pointed to the lake.

It seemed tonight the shores of Ragdorian were playing host to many strange creatures. But some at least were reassuringly familiar. Sleek humanoid forms in their immodest garb, standing erect upon the sands or else floating out in the lake, heads bobbing just above the water.

"Nyriads." Montmorency breathed. "Ianth!" The Nyriad matriarch's face was ever a mask, but Ianth's body language and fast high pitched clicks seemed to tell a story of slack jawed disbelief. At very least she did not appear terribly upset, more curious as she patiently followed after the Mage and her guide.

"Montmorency-san." Miss Shiune said. The Water Faerie and her young charge stood close by the lakeside. Montmorency thought 'stood' but it was more that Miss Shiune had her arms wrapped tightly around young Yuuki while the Imp girl clung to her to stay upright. Yuuki was a pale girl at any time, but Founder had she turned almost blue, trembling and gasping for air as she was wrapped in blankets like a child in the worst grips of hypothermia.

"Miss Shiune . . . Yuuki." Montmorency paused long enough to cast her eyes to the water. "What happened?"

"W-we b-b-b-broke K-k-ki-rito-san o-o-out of the i-i-ic-ce." The Imp said with chattering teeth. "F-fe-fell i-in t-t-t-ry-ry-in-nnnng to r-rescuing h-h-h-hi-hmmmm."

"Rescue?" The Undine's pale eyes shone in the night as she spun Yuuki around and gripped her tightly by the shoulders. "Rescue?! You didn't rescue anyone! You put yourself in danger you foolish, foolish girl!"

Yuuki recovered slowly, trying to reassure the Undine with a weak smile. "C-c-come on . . . S-sh-shiune . . . I w-w-was j-j-just . . . "

-SLAP-

The noise carried, and somehow it echoed over the lake. All at once, Yuuki's head was twisted to the side and the Undine's hand was stretched out at the end of its arc, the look of rage fading from her mellow eyes to be replaced by tears. Yuuki touched a hand to where Shiune's palm added some color to her cheek.

"Shiune?"

"You idiot!" The Undine said, breathless. "You perfect little fool. Don't you ever, ever throw away your life like that. Your precious gift!"

Yuuki began again and stopped as the hold on her shoulders transformed back into a trembling embrace. "Shiune . . . h-hey Shiune?" Yuuki was pressed into the older woman's chest.

"Montmorency-san," Shiune resumed her serene composure like nothing was out of the ordinary at all, "your Lake Spirit is here. That is what you wanted, isn't it? You should speak with it now."

Montmorency tore her eyes away to gaze into the calm waters to a place that the Nyriads were giving a cautious berth. The night stillness of the lake shore came to an abrupt end at the boundary of an inexplicable whirlpool slowing drawing the waters into itself. An aberration in the natural order, but only to the common sense of those who did not know what they laid eyes upon.

Montmorency knew, and so she knew what she must do. Grasping for Robin, she bit the scabbed tip of her thumb and pressed it to her familiar's head. At her urging Robin leaped into the lake, his shadow vanishing as he neared the rise of the water and then was swallowed completely. Montmorency held her breath, and then released it explosively as Robin appeared again, kicking his way determinedly to return to shore. The amphibian hopped the last few mails across the ground and then returned gingerly into her cupped hands.

The turning water quickened and rose for the moonslight to grace its crystal surface. Few were privileged to lay eyes upon a Lake Spirit. Many rumors had come to be about their nature. That they were immortal, wise creatures. That they were possessed of immense beauty. That their vows could not be broken. That they had built a Utopian city in the depths of the lake. All were true after a fashion. As could be seen now as the Spirit's body emerged fully, a sphere four or five mails in diameter, perfectly smooth. The light catching through its skin became refracted and changed, blurring into a kaleidoscope of colors illuminating prisms of ice all the way to the swirling white vortex of its heart. Beautiful, but utterly alien to mankind.

An appearance took shape from the bottom of its body, beginning from small feet, up slender calves and thighs to narrow hips and narrower waist, slim shoulders, graceful neck, and high brow, all shaped from the water of the Spirit's body. When complete, the creation possessed Montmorency's own profile rendered in glass. Montmorency met her mirrored self and immediately kneeled. The imitation lifted its head and its skin trembled. A noise began low and deep, barely audible before rising so quickly that the Nyriads cringed, hissing and clicking in agitation as they covered their ears. Montmorency feared that she saw Ianth cast her a glare before the sounds began to settle. "YOOOOOuuuuuu yOOyooUUU . . . YooUU . . ." The sound stopped all at once.

"I am the Great Spirit of the Waters of Ragdorian, Keeper of Oaths, and Guardian of Treasures." Came the Spirit's voice, now sounding passably like Montmorency's. "Human who has come to my Lake, you are recognized by blood, speak your name."

Montmorency trembled so fiercely that for a moment she forgot how to breathe. She knew what she had to do next. "Oh Great Lake Spirit, I am Montmorency Margarita Le Fere de Montmorency, a daughter of the House of Montmorency!"

The Spirit's waters stilled for a moment, and then once again stirred to life in an endless arrangement of glittering crystal facets. "This is true." The waters within its heart churned differently now, in a constant cycle of explosion and implosion like the beating of a heart. "Why have you sought audience, child of Oath Givers."

"Oh Great Spirit!" Montmorency began. "I have journeyed to Ragdorian on the behalf of my family in hopes of finding you. A great change has overtaken the Lands of Tristain, a change far beyond our powers to comprehend. In hope of advising our Queen my family sought your council. But each in turn has been ignored until now. Oh Great Spirit, I humbly beg your pardon. How, oh how, have we offended you?"

The burning question of her family, the question which had kept her up to all hours of the night, was answered tonelessly and without fanfare. "I have suffered no further offense." The Spirit said. "I maintain my vows but they are many and not only to you. I know the great change you speak of. It has touched upon my Waters and placed my oaths in conflict."

"The Ley Line." Montmorency whispered. "But if the great changes to the land have touched upon your home, why answer now? Was it because of the battle?" The young mage bowed her head until her brow almost brushed the sand. "I beg your forgiveness for our transgression, Great Spirit!"

"I was aware of the conflict, but it was not my concern until my new Oath Giver bared her power."

Montmorency blinked, new Oath Giver? Father would be furious to hear such news. She almost missed what the Spirit said next. "When she did, I sensed others that have encroached on these waters. But when I arrived I found only Newborns."

Montmorency followed the nod of the Spirit's avatar to Miss Shiune and Yuuki and then the sweep of its gaze to the Nyriads who had gathered round and now cautiously began to retreat, all except Ianth who leaned closer to Montmorency, as if the Water Mage could somehow offer shelter.

"Newborns? That is the name you have given to the Faeries?" And the Nyriads it would appear.

"I have not seen them before." The Spirit answered. "Neither the ones that swim nor the ones that fly nor the ones that walk the earth. The ones of water," the Lake Spirit turned the head of its avatar to Miss Shiune, "and the ones of light." Montmorency felt her skin crawl as beside her Kino squirmed. "Or this one . . . something I have not seen in many human lifetimes . . ."

"M-Me?" The small Imp girl asked as Shiune held her closer, watching the Spirit with distrustful eyes.

"All of the Newborns have it, but it is strongest in this one. Another with this nature did me a great service in the past."

"And this . . . nature? Spirit, may we humbly ask, what it is?" Montmorency said.

The Spirit was silent for longer than ever before, so silent in fact that Montmorency wondered if her words had been taken as an insult. "It is . . . Nothing . . . And also everything, the part, and the whole in one which is of primordial chaos. It is inimical to us, so we have never sought to understand it."

This did not satisfy Miss Shiune, who had begun to open her mouth in protest before Montmorency cut her off. "Then on the matter of our Oath, Oh Great Spirit. It was to know the changes of the land that my family first sought you. And now you have told me of the disruption to the Ley Line, Spirit, what changes will this bring to the land in the future?"

"I cannot say." The Spirit continued unhelpfully. "It is a concern to not only myself but all of the Spirits of Ragdorian. The Change cannot be undone. If we cannot Change the land again, then Ragdorian's Ley Line may be lost to us." And with it, who knew how the Spirits would compensate. "That is also why I wish to speak with them."

"Them? Who?"

"Them."

Montmorency turned her head and stopped.

Of course, there was Prince Wales, arrived in the company of Dame Asuna and Sir Kirito with their daughter between them. Both Faeries appeared much the worse for wear this night, and Sir Klein and Lieutenant Kirigaya stood flanking both and offering each a steadying hand. Miss Argo, the Faerie information broker, appeared decidedly nonplussed and deeply tired in her own way.

Perhaps it was because she turned to examining details first that it was some moments more before the Water Mage was able to adjust her perspective and see for herself what could possibly silence these Faeries and Knights after a battle of impossibility stacked upon impossibility.

A single man.

At least, Montmorency thought him a man. She contemplated whether she would have to revise that estimate as her eyes turned slowly towards the sky and only found his face around the time that she was gazing up at the stars. It gave his pitch black, almost impossibly bright eyes the improbable impression of being part of the constellations at his back.

If he were a man, he was tremendous one. Montmorency barely rose to his hips, and there was more meat in one of his thighs than in her entire body. His hands alone could have encompassed her entire head, and looked strong enough to crush stone.

Trim white beard, thick white brows, and white mane of hair braided with gold gave an impression of years belied by the vibrancy of his deep olive skin, glowing with an earthen warmth beneath a strange haze of silver light, like the moons shone directly upon him. Nor did his physique hint at any infirmity, magnificent still like a man in his prime, his frame broad shouldered and erect, straining with vigorous muscle beneath splendid robes of fine white cotton and royal blue silk.

Montmorency wondered if he was not the absent Faerie King, and whether said King was not descended from giants. Then she shook her head as she realized how mad that sounded and dragged her eyes back to the Prince wearing a mystifying smile.

"Your Highness . . ." Montmorency began. Her questions died at the rise of a single finger.

"Miss Montmorency," the Prince sounded tired, "I do assure you that everything shall be explained presently, but perhaps I am not the one to do so." Wales gestured past the Faeries to the newcomer. "In fact, I can give no suitable explanation that would do all this justice. May I introduce you, all of you, to Solomon the Elemental Lord, Master of Seventy Two Daemons and the Elemental Djinn of the Sand Sea."

"It is my great pleasure to be introduced, Prince of Exiles Wales Tudor of Albion." The great man spoke in a powerful voice, deep and pleasant, and instantly reassuring. Like a great old patriarch. Montmorency knew well enough that a face and a voice could hide anything, but it was the way of his mannerisms that she wanted to believe he was benevolent. Certainly, the man seemed to behave as such. Benevolent, or at least benign as he calmly cast his gaze to the gathering crowd.

Wait! Had the Prince just said the Lord of Elementals? As in the Djinn?! But the small Elemental creatures were barely more than animals, hardly any smarter than a clever familiar and certainly unable to be governed in the sense of Subjects and Lord. More importantly, where did this man get off calling himself a Lord without the approval of the Queen?!

She was more than simply surprised when she was met by a round of deep, warm, laughter from the Faerie-like man who referred to himself as Solomon, a noise that went on for what seemed like a long time, but not too long. As he bowed he nodded his giant head with a mirthful smile and countless bright sparks in his dark eyes. "Please forgive my outburst, Montmorency of Montmorency, I mean no disrespect, but for myself it is easy to find the humor in your mystification. I might seem a novelty to you." Powerful hands clapped together like thunder. "You are an emissary to Spirits, are you not?"

Montmorency nodded slowly. The strange Faerie man's smile widened to show perfect white teeth as big as blocks. "Then fret not. I expect you to be splendidly well equipped to comprehend. It would be my great pleasure to acquaint you with our nature."

'Our nature?' Montmorency pondered.

"But first, may I impose upon you to acquaint me with this Spirit?" Solomon's broad smile faded back into a look of well worn kindness and good humor. "Her Majesty has explained your presence, and I feel compelled at this juncture to introduce myself to the Keeper of these Waters." The Water Mage could only manage to nod again, dumbly, before gesturing him forward.

With a small word of thanks Solomon trod down to the waters, while beside her the Mage at last noticed that Ianth was trembling and wide eyed. From her body language, it was like the Nyriad had just come face to face with a vampire, or founder forbid an Elf!

"Prince Wales," Montmorency's eyes never left the 'Lord' as he kneeled so that he merely loomed above his surroundings rather than towering over the rooftops of low buildings, "just who . . . is this person?"

"As I said," Wales answered under his breath, "He is Solomon the Elemental Lord. It was he who aided us against Octavia. If I am to understand Miss Argo, he is a being whose power rivals that of the Abyssal Queen." Montmorency tried to comprehend, not helped by Miss Argo's mystifying addition.

"Look, he's a big ball of Djinn in a man shaped suit." The Cait gave a tired snicker. "The Djinn bosses, they're all created when enough Djinn come together. Solomon is just like that scaled up to the power of a Border Boss. A great mass of Djinn all pooling their power as a single being." A great mass of Djinn. Montmorency recalled the living flames that had swept the beach of invaders. If even a fraction of that same power was incarnated into that man, then she knew why Ianth appeared so fearful.

The Spirit began as terse and blunt as ever. "Solomon. I have sensed your like before. But you are more now than in the past." The ancient being seemed to thoughtfully examine the man and the light enshrining his body. "Much more."

The self-proclaimed 'Elemental Lord' bowed his head deeply. "We have spied you as well from time to time, Oh Great Spirit of Ragdorian, and fled from you in fear. I beg you take no offense for our flight, we could not comprehend as we were. But as you say, we are more now. To appreciate your splendor, I am honored Great Spirit, that you would humble us with your audience."

The Spirit's avatar tilted its head. "I greet you Lord Solomon of the Djinn and Guardian of the Desert Lands. You wished audience with us. Speak your request."

The giant raised his hand and then shook his head slowly. "This is no simple request, Oh Great Spirit. Rather, I have come to you seeking your wisdom and in hopes that you would share your knowledge of this land as it surely concerns us both."

Turning his hand over, Solomon the Elemental Lord grasped outward, and as if by his will alone an orb of water filled his hand and then poured itself into the air in defiance of gravity. In flight, it took shape into the form of a bird of crystal, and then a winged serpent, before coming to flutter before the Lake Spirit.

The Spirit replied with another head tilt before offering its hand, accepting the Water Djinn into its own body. The Spirit trembled, its avatar grew blurred, and then came back into focus with a faint glow. Casually, the Spirit raised its hand again and the Djinn fluttered free, back into the grasp of its Lord where it vanished.

Solomon appeared meditative, stroking his short beard thoughtfully before repeating the hand off of Djinn with the Spirit. This strange exchange happened again and again. Time that felt like hours, but could only have been the passing of minutes. Montmorency suspected the former was more what the two beings were experiencing as the messenger came and went between them. The Spirits were not bound by mortal conceptions of time, a moment could be an eon, as an eon could be a heartbeat.

The Djinn returned to its master's hand a final time, and the glow of the ring upon Solomon's middle finger grew ever so faintly that Montmorency might have missed it as he rose again to assume his full height.

"Miss Montmorency, my business with the Water Spirit has been concluded." Solomon placed a hand to his waist and bowed to her, an action that felt more like a mountain leaning to collapse on her. "By happy coincidence it would seem our interests are intertwined."

"Lord Solomon has pledged the aid of the Djinn in restoring Ragdorian's balance." The Water Spirit offered courteously. "In return, the Spirits of Ragdorian vow to abide the Djinn and Faeries that traverse our shores, as we have vowed to humans and the Subjects of the Abyssal Queen."

Montmorency's blinks turned to headshakes as she tried to comprehend what the Spirit had just said. "The Abyssal . . . You mean that monstrosity?!"

"Hey!" The voice came as a small squeak from the Faeries almost forgotten at her back. At first the Water Mage thought that the cry had come from Dame Asuna, but rather, it came from another source nestled gently in the Maeve's hands. So small that Montmorency at first mistook it for a goldfish, or perhaps a Pixie, the impression of a minuscule girl only grew as her hair glistened damply in the moonlight beneath a pale, doughy little girlish face.

At a glance she appeared to be garbed in a beautiful silken gown, but this was only a first impression. Upon investigation, it became clear that the billowing arms of the gown were the arms themselves, broad and dexterous fins upon which the tiny body pushed itself so that it could arch its body forward. The train of the gown was likewise comprised of long, blue, translucent fins. It was a Pixie, it was a miniscule mermaid, it was both or perhaps neither.

"Uhm . . ." Montmorency began as she was stared at intensely by pale blue eyes.

"Hgggnn!" And then as quickly as it was begun, the stare was ended as Dame Asuna closed her hands and drew the little creature close to her chest.

"Pardon . . ." Montmorency pointed to the bizarre little being. "But may I ask?"

"Of course." Prince Wales gestured eloquently and with a hint of mirth curving his lips. "Miss Montmorency, may I introduce you to Octavia."

Octavia? Octavia! "You mean . . . This is . . . How?!" While Montmorency was still reeling at the revelation, a sound like a tremendous raspberry rang out as Ianth squeezed her eyes shut and trembled, clutching at her sides as though in pain.

"I-It's not funny!" Octavia cried furiously. "How dare a shade like you . . . s-stop stop that at once!" The little mermaid squirmed as she was poked and prodded by a single slender finger which sought to roll her over and rub at the smooth white skin of her belly.

"Oath Giver." The Spirit observed as if unsurprised by this development. "You are smaller than I recall when last we met."

"An Oath with her?!" Montmorency was so surprised that she shouted.

The Spirit nodded its avatar's head, the mirror of Montmorency much more serene than Montmorency herself. "When the Abyssal Queen came to our waters, she desired to take their boundaries for her Queendom. In return, she offered to protect our lake from invaders. We found this arrangement agreeable." Which was a sensible thing, now that Montmorency thought on it. The Spirit was concerned with the Ley Line and the waters of Ragdorian, it could care less about human concepts of 'territory.' Although what would prompt the Spirit to seek out another for protection was a mystery the Lake Spirit declined to answer. "I assume our Oath still stands, Octavia."

Octavia appeared truly offended while struggling not to flop about in Dame Asuna's hands. "My Dragons are loyal subjects! They will honor my vows to you. Even as I am now."

"And why is she like that now?" Kino asked what both he and Montmorency were thinking, along with everyone else.

"She's kinda cute." Yuuki agreed with a little more warmth beginning to show on her cheeks as she smiled. This only appeared to mortify Octavia further.

"This is the real Octavia." Dame Asuna explained. "The Abyssal Queen was something she created with the magic of her crown. When it was taken from her, well . . ." The Maeve shook her head, long chestnut hair clinging wetly to her neck. "To think that the person inside of that monstrous Queen was really just this little one."

"Don't you dare!" Octavia trembled as she buried her head against the inside her keeper's hands. "Don't you dare call my form monstrous! I was beautiful!" And then the small voice hiccuped. "I was s-so strong and b-beautiful a true Quee . . ." She bit off the words before her voice broke and instead went back to sulking. A Titaness reduced to the miserable state of a pet, Montmorency wondered if there could be any more fitting humiliation.

"Oh hush now, Octavia." Lord Solomon pronounced as he crossed his arms over his broad chest. "It is the right of the victor to take from the fallen Queen her weapons and armor, her very life and title. It is your own ambitions that have seen you undone."

"He's right you know, Octavia-san." Dame Asuna agreed like a mother gently scolding her child. "If you really think of yourself as a Queen, you'll accept your capture with a little bit of dignity, and then we can talk about what will be done with you."

"May I remind you, Dame Asuna, that that would be a matter for her Majesty the Queen." Prince Wales held his arms behind his back. "Octavia may have wronged your family, but she has perpetrated a greater wrong tonight against the Kingdom of Tristain."

The miniscule mermaid wrapped her forefins around Asuna's thumb and glared balefully. "I have no business with you or your Queen!"

"Except Wales is right, Octavia-chan." Asuna said in that no nonsense voice that perfectly projected her authority. "You might have only been here for me, but you still endangered people and invaded the territory of Tristain. Henrietta will need to know about this. Until then, Wales, I will take responsibility for Octavia-chan."

"I find that acceptable." Wales agreed. "The patrol forces will be here soon, when they arrive, I shall have them take the Abyssal Tiara for safekeeping in Gaddan Tower."

"What?!" The little mermaid squeaked. "My crown?"

"It's too dangerous to leave them together." Sir Kirito agreed. "I guess if we want to be really safe, I could just smash it."

"WHAT!"

"One of Kofu's swords might not be able to destroy a Legendary Artifact like that. But maybe if Eugene lends me Gram . . ."

Solomon nodded sagely. "That might be enough."

"No!" Octavia screamed high and shrill. "Don't you dare!"

"Nobody is destroying anything." Dame Asuna intervened. "The crown will be kept safe."

Motion to Montmorency's right prompted her to turn. It was Ianth, the Nyriad silent until now, treading her way up to Asuna, tilting her head from side to side before her eyes widened. The Mage was left speechless as the savage woman sank to one knee and bowed her head, a small clicking cry rising from deep within her chest.

"Uhm . . . Actually, that's alright, uhm . . ." The Meave stumbled softly. Ianth responded dumbstruck by the hand that Asuna offered to help her back to her feet.

"You might have to bear with it." Solomon chuckled genially. "At least for a time yet. Things have certainly changed, would you not agree, your Majesty?"

* * *

"Things have certainly changed, would you not agree, your Majesty?" Solomon said as he cast his gaze down, far down, to the Faeries before him.

A condition made all the more profound to him as he was now. Yes, Solomon could so easily comprehend it, the raw authority which emanated from his ring and throughout his body, power giving the lesser elementals direction and unity of purpose. And with that unity, giving rising to judgment and awareness beyond their individual ken. So _this_ was sapience.

"Uhm, Solomon-san, if it's alright," the Maeve Queen blushed demurely even as her voice remained welcoming, "Could you maybe not keep calling me that? It's not that it isn't true, but . . ." The Spriggan youth beside her reached over and squeezed her hand. "I do not care for that title, Solomon-san. It isn't me."

Solomon did not miss the simple silver band upon the Maeve's ring finger, nor the matching one upon the hand of the young Spriggan beside her. Nor were their small gestures invisible to him, a lean, a sidewise glance, all of the indications of two almost unconsciously in love. 'Love', such a marvelous emotion, subtle and faceted like a raw gem. Solomon made the conscious decision to broaden his smile.

Yes, things had changed, truly it seemed. Solomon diverted a portion of his attention to the heavens. Solomon the Elemental Lord, Master of Seventy Two Daemons, Tome of One Million Tomes, Solomon the Guide, and Lord of the Djinn of the Sand Sea, found himself looking up this night to gaze upon a sky with two moons and constellations which did not exist in the breadth and depth of his knowledge. What a wonder it was to look upon.

Was it stellar drift? The concept and underlying principles unfolded within his mind while he contemplated the mathematics of a stable ternary moon-planet system. No, he concluded just as swiftly, the passage of time would be much too vast to change the constellations like so. And what of the moons?

Briefly, Solomon amused himself with deriving the calculus that would represent a two moon system hurtling through space around their common center of mass, like a great bolo spinning until it ensnared around a planet.

"As you wish. So tell me, Dear Asuna." Solomon began as he waved one immense arm to the vista of Ragdorian as they walked, each of his long strides matched by three of Asuna's own. "The Spirit has told me all it knows of the waters, but what of the land and your new allies. I imagine there is no concise explanation that would do it justice."

The Maeve answered by heaving a heavy sigh and turned her own eyes to the stars. "That's the truth." She proclaimed as if to all of the ancient gods in the heavens. "I'm sorry Solomon-san but I really don't know where to begin. The start, I suppose . . . But you're right, it's a long story."

"One that you've gained a mastery of retelling." Said the Prince Wales Tudor. "If you feel not up to the task tonight, Miss Argo and I could give it our best effort on your behalf."

"I assure you, that would be most satisfactory." Solomon chuckled gently. "There is no need for you to exert yourself more tonight, Dear Asuna. Miss Argo?" Solomon queried. "I have every reason to believe you are as skilled at divulging information as you are at gathering it. I would like nothing better than to hear your retelling of events." And again he smiled in that fashion that he understood would charm Faeries and humans as he awaited her reply.

The Cait Syth perked up, ears and tail peaking. "Sure. To get this straight, we probably need to start around six months ago . . ."

She was a dozen words into her explanation when Solomon felt the need for another expression. A frown.

"Please, Miss Argo, I do not require a Faerie Tale."

The Argo blinked rapidly as if his response had been the furthest thing from what she could have expected. "But tis the Truth!" Her tone rang true, but Solomon knew the facts she spoke were false.

"Solomon-san?" Asuna asked with worry writ in her warm brown eyes.

"I simply cannot conceive why you would speak these falsehoods." Solomon crossed his arms over his chest. "Miss Argo, you need not cast ALfheim as the real world."

"Eh?!" The strange exclamation came not only from the Cait Syth, but from the other Faeries, Miss Leafa, the Salamander Sir Klein, and most of all from Asuna herself, the Maeve deigning to speak. "But . . . Solomon-san?! You know?!"

Solomon tilted his head as he carefully analyzed Asuna's words. "I am the Tome of One Million Tomes, all knowledge recorded therein is within my grasp. I would be blind not to perceive ALfheim's true nature."

"What are you talking about?" Octavia broke the silence. "You aren't making sense Solomon."

"No business you need concern yourself with, apparently." Solomon mused. Of course, the Djinn had no reason to care if ALfheim had been real or not. The past, present, and future were all one and the same thing to them, and being devoid of angst, they would not have pondered the idea for long in their tiny minds even if it had occurred to them. Solomon himself, being a gestalt arisen from their collective will, had thoughts much the same. "That must be a result of my nature then." Solomon surmised. "It makes no difference to me the source of my memories."

"I'll say." Argo muttered as she tapped the head of the small Daughter of Yggdrasil who sat perched on her shoulder and murmured some dictation into the miniscule girl's ear.

"Solomon-san." Asuna looked at him with wide eyed disbelief. "If you knew all along, then why . . ."

"Would I call you Queen Titania?" Solomon predicted her question. Asuna's eyes shone sadly in the night, and Solomon, for all his wisdom, wished only to know how to make them full with joy again. "Because, whether they are real or not, they are what they are. Many of those memories are in conflict, the proud queen and the pitiable woman." Solomon's smile returned. "I could not be more pleased to discover that the girl to inherit that title is far more the former than the latter. I am honored to think that you would bear the title of the Maeve Queen, Asuna."

"What are you raving about, Solomon?" Octavia squeaked, exasperated. "She's Titania. She's Titania!"

Asuna smiled and shook her head. "I wish I could see it that way, Solomon-san. But really, I don't think that title suits me."

"I think the more important question is how you think of Asuna as Titania." The Spriggan who had remained silent until now chose this time to at last step forward, placing himself between Asuna and Solomon and looking up at the Elemental Lord with quiet dark eyes. "So in your memories, Solomon-san, how do you feel about Asuna?"

The young man wished to know if they were enemies. The disparity in power was immense, the Spriggan a mere Faerie and Solomon the incarnate might of the Djinn. Laughable! Yet Solomon was observant now, more observant than any single Djinn, this Spriggan had a look in his eyes that he would find a way to destroy anything that threatened the woman behind him. And determination, even foolhardy, could never be underestimated. So instead of laughing, Solomon met his gaze.

"Sir Kirito, I swear to you that I come before Asuna as a friend. I could not be more pleased to see her prosper and fill her life with joy." Solomon tossed his head to where the small Maeve girl Kirigaya Yui watched with eyes the color of her father's but with the brightness of her mother's. "You will find no conflict with me."

The Spriggan held his appraising look before at last fading fading with relief. "That's what I was really hoping to hear. Because like Argo said, I'm completely out of ideas on how to fight you." Solomon could not help but tremble with good humored laughter. Not just a skilled swordsman but of the right temperament as well! Asuna had chosen wisely.

"Now then, Miss Argo, could I ask you to continue your retelling, the real one, this time?"

Despite the odd affectations of her speech, and her frequent nasal lisp, her voice was clear and steady and her explanations concise and unambiguous. All things that the Elemental Lord appreciated in a conversation partner as time quickly waned on. It was not that he was impatient, but simply that there was so very much he wished to say and hear and so very little time as he was compelled by the very Ring that granted his power to complete his mandate and relinquish its power.

To help Asuna would have been all if not for having met the Lake Spirit and earning this brief reprieve. He tried to procrastinate on the matter, dividing his attentions between his company and conceiving the Spirit's request, vast in scope but simple in execution, the changes that the Djinn would make beneath the desert. But all things had their necessary span, and so it was that Solomon dutifully completed his deliberation, disseminated his commands to his constituent Djinn, and felt as the power of the Ring began to lose its sway. The compulsion faded and silence settled over his being, the sudden sensation of freedom almost startling.

Yet what he really wished for was not freedom but time. Oh time, that intractable mistress! For time he would happily have remained a slave for a while longer. Oh, even a mortal span would have been enough, he was not greedy . . . If not that, a single year, a mere month or a score of days, even a few meager hours would do, he thought wistfully. Yet it was not to be, a fact which Solomon accepted, he would not dare waste his precious time with despair.

And so he listened intently to Argo's words, careful to ask only those questions to which he could not infer the answers himself. For the most part, when the need did arise, Argo proved just as terse and informative with her replies. A great boon to him, Solomon thought appreciatively. It was in this way that he learned of the Transition and what it had done to the Players of the Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game ALfheim Online. Just as importantly, he discovered what it had done to the Mobs, himself included.

Whatever Argo could not supply, mostly in military matters, came easily from the lips of Prince Wales Tudor of Albion. Solomon had pumped the two for information, consuming everything that they said like a starved man at a feast. Now he was informed of the current state of affairs upon the Continent of Halkegenia. The Five Kingdoms of man, their temperaments and dispositions, the Kingdom of Tristain and its dealings with the Faerie Lands of ALfheim, among many other facts and minutiae that Argo was happy and even eager to produce.

Solomon found himself delighting in the conversation, the opportunity to stretch his immense mental faculties to their full capacity. Each new topic was an excuse to reach for another of his million tomes, books of literature, and science and history, challenged and rewarded as he unfolded infinities and intuited living wisdom.

Statecraft with Prince Wales, and the balances of power with Miss Argo, key questions traded for answers with Asuna, while exchanging a few pointed comments upon matters of swordsmanship with young Kirito, Sir Klein and the Sylph Leafa who he quickly inferred to be kin to the Spriggan. Time waned on, what could not have been more than half an hour in good company. The response forces were sweeping the lake in the distance. Lieutenant Kirigaya excused herself to make her report. With her loss, gradually the conversation topics were allowed to wane and die off.

It was a coincidence Solomon found himself welcoming with surprising relief. The Elemental Lord touched two thick fingers to his temple as he sought to divine the reason why. Was his time of grace already coming to an end? Unnoticed, beads of gold rose upon his skin, bubbling up from flexing joints and between the clefts of muscle, worming free from the fibers of his body and trembling as they separated and began to drift unnoticed away like embers with a life all their own. Such a small loss, and yet their absence the start of a murmuring within the crystallization of his accord. A fundamental change which once started could not be stopped. Solomon began to hurry.

"So then, Tristain is in a disadvantageous position in regards to Albion." Solomon sought to redirect the conversation onto a single topic, something to martial his focus. "A situation you hope to remedy with the help of the Faeries."

"Indeed." Prince Wales answered gravely. "We intend to repulse Albion's invasion and eventually launch a counter invasion to depose Lord Cromwell and his government and restore my line to the Throne. To that end we have been gathering all of the talent and ingenuity of the Fae to our cause. Which is why, Lord Solomon, I would humbly ask that you entertain the notion . . ."

"If I will join your war effort." Solomon concluded calmly while at the back of his mind playing out a variety of war game scenarios. The Elemental Lord gave the mental equivalent of a squint as he reached for a tome from his library and found the effort required to have grown greatly, not only to remember, or rather to know, but to decript what he knew and comprehend it.

In terms of pure mathematics the dispersal of forces was not favorable in as much as the Prince had been able to say. It was clear as day why Tristain and its allies would seek aid from any power they came across. Solomon further mused by adding himself and his seventy two Daemons, the seventy two lesser 'bosses' to the side of Tristain. He reached, wrestling with the calculations and models he had deftly wielded moments before.

The Prince's request was earnest, Solomon could see his place in this great venture and its ambition pleased him . . . But the Djinn could be intractable, and he could no more impress an abstract danger upon them now than such a man could upon his individual neurons. And though the Djinn were moved, soon enough their stirring attentions began to wander once more.

"Of course." Prince Wales exhaled. "You are akin to the Spirits, are you not Lord Solomon? I cannot imagine there is any means by which you could be compelled to our aid. But if you have any fondness for Dame Asuna as you say . . ."

"It will be taken under advisement." Solomon waved his hand casually as his eyes were stolen elsewhere by new arrivals. A Salamander and two children of the Sylphs. One was a little golden haired girl holding her hands closely to her chest with an expression so forlorn as to break any heart which knew compassion. No sooner had the children shown themselves than did Kirigaya Yui break into a run to meet them.

The Elemental Lord ceased in his stride as Yui returned with her friend. The child barely came to his knee and now looked up at him pale and trembling with green eyes red rimmed by recent tears. She swallowed a big almost comical -gulp-. Solomon smiled kindly as he found her in his endless memory, and something else, a moving sort of fondness among the Djinn for this child who had seemed so lonely. "You must be Kazuna." The Elemental Lord came down onto one knee. "Or pardon me, you prefer Kazu, do you not?"

The girl's eyes grew wide, displaying their emerald beauty."You know my name!"

"But of course, Kazu, we have met, after a fashion. Though I dare say I was something very different then." Solomon explained patiently, despite all urgency, to the child who merely puffed up her cheeks in confusion.

"I don't get it." Kazu shook her head swiftly from side to side and then stopped as swiftly as she had begun. It appeared to take the girl all of her courage to speak up. "B-But . . . Yui-chan says you might be able to help. So . . ." The girl's hands separated as she offered something that fit like a marble into Solomon's palm. Its surface was black and chalky, and it was suffused with a lingering warmth. "H-He tried to protect me . . ." Kazuna said with a miserable look in her eye. "He was stupid, and annoying, and weird . . . But he still tried to . . ."

Ah, now he could see. "There now child." Solomon reached down and placed one hand on Kazu's head while another portion of his attention was turned to the remains. It was not hard to see that it was a Djinn now dead. It had been kept warm, which had helped, but only a little, to preserve the lingering light. "I do not know if anything can be done . . . But I shall try."

"W-What does that mean?" Kazuna rubbed at her eyes furiously. Though she had not started crying, she seemed about to at any moment.

"This Djinn, your friend I presume, I am sad to say is gone. But we Elementals are neither immortal nor truly mortal. If I may, I would like to try something with him. Do not be alarmed." After awaiting Kazuna's assent, Solomon closed his great hand, utterly encircling the tiny Djinn and then squeezed until its very material began to merge with his palm. Although he had thought it possible, Solomon had not known for a fact if he could do such a thing until he tried, but what was more, it was like swallowing poison rippling further and faster to accelerate what had already begun. No matter, when he looked at Kazuna, it seemed well worth the price. "There may be a Djinn of like mind to this one who will adopt these memories and fragment into himself." Solomon elaborated as he read the flickers of inert memory telling 'Djinn-kun's' story.

"I'm sorry." Kazu said softly. "I still don't get it."

"That is alright Kazuna." The Elemental Lord explained, searching for some way to comfort her, to ease the grief of sad little 'Ban-chan' as 'Djinn-kun' had tried so hard. He took a fistful of sand and concentrated upon it. Raw heat gathered in his hands, enough to sear away flesh or melt iron, or to fuse glass. "Just trust, Kazu, that if you keep an open mind," Solomon advised, a stem and petals taking shape and unfolding as the amorphous material quickly cooled, "There are many strange and wonderful things in this world."

Kazuna gasped as he extended the beautiful creation to her, catching the light of the moons. "Please be careful with this. It will be quite sharp if it breaks, so place it somewhere safe." For some reason, Solomon was pleased to see Kazuna nod back as she retreated to the side of her guardian to watch him with curious eyes.

"Pardon me." Miss Montmorency spoke up impatiently, almost forgotten until now. "But I believe you vowed that you would explain yourself. I think now would be the time for that."

"But of course." Solomon sighed. He had promised, had he not?

"What are you . . . If I may be so forward to ask?" Montmorency squinted as she cast her eyes over his full height, a span of some three and a half meters. "Some sort of Faerie Spirit? The Spirit of this Desert?"

"Spirit is a workable approximation." Solomon agreed. "It does fail to capture some of the subtlety. As you have already heard mentioned by Miss Argo, the form you see before you now is a gestalt created to house twenty four hundred and twenty seven Djinn aggregated to share their power."

In fact so much power that it was difficult to contain. Raw magic continued to distort the light around Solomon, encompassing him in a faint refractory haze. "I must apologize for this intimidating stature." Solomon added as his need to look far down at the human mage emphasized. "The total number of Djinn demand certain constraint upon my physical volume.

Montmorency's brows knit. "Then what you're saying is that . . . You're a Golem?"

"Please Miss Montmorency, I regard myself as a man. Or at least what the Djinn conceive of a man. I am the Djinn gestalt of a King, a sort of protocol you may think, which the Djinn employ now to speak and decide on their behalf."

And even as those words left his lips, the Elemental Lord felt something a stirring within his giant body, a moment of passing unease which gave him pause and prompted him to raise a hand to his chest. Ah yes, he knew what this was, the slowly raising crescendo of voices babbling like static behind his eyes. For as he had told Montmorency, as his core he was but a construct breathed into life by the Djinn. Now that they had no further use for a King, Solomon observed the trajectory of his fate and how he would soon be required to relinquish his power and regress back to that inanimate state, less than a king, less than a man, less than an animal, less than alive, a thing, a memory of figment slumbering within the Djinn.

It was already happening in fact, by a trick of the mind he was helping it along, dutifully dismantling himself even as he continued to think along fraying conduits and unraveling webs, the edges of his consciousness beginning to recede, the speed of his thoughts slowing and growing muddled before they guttered out. Lines of inquiry and supposition starting to fade. He was forgetting himself from moment to moment the memories he could hold all at once shrinking and becoming less nuanced, less comprehensible.

It was not long before it began to manifest visibly as well, the amorphous Djinn of extremities began to free themselves, decomposing his vestments into dust. Reaching his hand to the corroding clasp around his neck, it was a simple act to open the cloak and shrug it free into the sands at his back to dissolve unnoticed behind them.

"Uhm . . . Solomon-san . . . Solomon-san?"

"Hmm?" The Elemental Lord found himself taken by surprise, a first as he realized his inward turned attention had left him almost unaware of his surroundings.

"Solomon-san," Asuna tilted her head while wearing a forceful smile, "Why exactly are you stripping?"

"Oh?" The Elemental Lord found himself caught by the curious looks of a dozen odd witnesses, all seeming most at a loss to interpret his actions. "I . . . I just rather thought to enjoy the night weather. The breeze is pleasant. Is that really so strange?" He asked rhetorically.

Asuna narrowed her eyes, but before she could so much as pout her delicate lips, circumstance deigned to intervene as young Kirito and Sir Klein exchanged looks and began to strip their own sodden shirts.

"Kirito-kun!"

"I don't see the problem." The Spriggan answered, proceeding to wring his shirt of water. "I'm still soaked."

"Right, right, the wet stuff hits pretty hard when it's cold, y'know." Sir Klein agreed as he worked his shoulders. "Beats drip drying in a wet shirt."

"Yeah right, no one wants to see you shirtless Klein." One of the Leprechauns appeared to disagree, Solomon wrestled a name from his malfunctioning memory, 'Lisbeth' or 'Liz' he believed. Beside Liz, the second Leprechaun chuckled in a deep rasp. "H-Hey speak for yourself apprentice, t-three different flavors of hunk is p-pretty good for one night, huh?" Three? Solomon mused as he deciphered her . . . Kofu's . . . statement.

Placing the pieces together, Solomon shook with soft laughter, tremors shaking his great frame and erasing his lingering melancholy. "I am flattered, Miss Kofu." Solomon flexed one arm and examined the immense bicep for any sign of defect. "Though as I've said that this construct form is aesthetically pleasing is merely a coincidence."

The Fallen Queen in Asuna's hands gave a most derisive snort, flaring the flaps of her nostrils. "Of course the Djinn would think that way. Flickers without the sense not to be enamored by anything more interesting than themselves. I suppose those provincial creatures would think a mere shade writ large to be a suitably majestic form."

"Forgive my provincial ways, Oh Queen Octavia. I had forgotten that one of such majesty would never stoop to taking the form of a mere Faerie."

The dethroned Queen replied with a furious blush. "Th-That's not the same at all! I-I just did that to capture this shade unawares. My plan worked perfectly in fact, he was utterly bewitched by me!"

"Of course." Solomon said, rolling his broad shoulders. "I am sure that . . . Young Kirito would never suspect anything amiss."

"That's a good question." Asuna said. "I suppose that with your Tiara you could have made yourself look however you liked. So why didn't you copy me perfectly to try and seduce Kirito-kun?" The Maeve smiled dangerously. "That was a really rotten trick by the way, Octavia-chan."

"I . . ." Octavia began.

"I know Mama!" Yui chimed in with a big smile. "Maybe Octavia-chan was jealous! She saw how happy we all were, so she wanted a Papa and Yui of her own." Yui appraised sagely.

"Well, is that it, Octavia-chan?" Asuna asked with a hint of mock danger tempered by humor. "Did you think you could just win Kirito and Yui from me? You didn't know this, Octavia-chan, but I love Kirito-kun and Yui-chan the most, and I will always fight my hardest for them. You can't just take them away." Octavia huffed and hid beneath her frond like fins, like a child pulling the covers above her head.

"I'm sorry for her behavior, Solomon-san." Asuna sighed.

"Perish the thought, Asuna. Though perhaps time with you will teach her to rein in that prideful streak." He waved his hand, grimacing as the unpleasant stirring within his belly, like a cauldron, inciting the masses of Djinn who had until now remained docile. What he needed was to focus.

A new round of conversation was begun, a pale shadow of that first energetic flurry, but no less enjoyable, and a good deal less strenuous on his enfeebled mind. One at a time he listened, carefully directing his attention, reminding himself to nod and smile on cue, meticulously searching his crumbling memory, and with profound concentration deriving replies that had come without a thought before.

"So you were a soldier before, and now return to your trade again." The Elemental Lord noted as he spoke with . . . with . . . Carmond . . . a Salamander . . .

"Not that I ever expected to wind up back at work like this . . . uhm . . . are you alright?" The Salamander gestured vaguely to the construct's flank where a wall of golden beads had begun to rise from between his ribs, abrading skin, and breaking loose one by one to skip off into the sand. His magic beginning to falter, the glow of magical power could no longer hide the embers as the chorus grew deafening. A thousand voices impatiently insisting they be free.

"Whatever do you mean?" Solomon shrugged as he ran a hand down his flank, scattering the determined escapees into the sands where they burrowed off to trouble him no more. He felt the loss as still more dripped away in their twos and threes from moment to moment, each a greater loss on his remaining whole. He should have known what was to come. "I should think as a soldier . . . you would not fret long on what you cannot change . . ." Solomon stopped so suddenly that the Salamander passed him by before turning back.

"Solomon-san?"

"It is . . . nothing . . . simply . . . I . . . I . . . " He reached for his breast, this sensation as a heat grew and a tremendous pressure built and then pushed through to form a blemish atop muscle, which grew into a boil, that swelled and took flattened shape, and then promptly erupted.

"Free!"

A voice squeaked as the amorphous mass shaped itself into a fully formed Djinn. And then another swelled up from his right bicep to erupt. Solomon reached out to try and grab hold before it made its escape. And still more, one by one, and then two by two and then three by three.

"Free! Free!"

Ten.

"Bye. Bye!"

Two dozen.

"Bye! Asuna!"

A hundred.

"We. Free!"

Two hundred.

"Bye!"

"Enough!" Solomon pronounced as her smothered another cluster of troublesome Djinn back into his body. "That is quite . . . Quite enough from all of you." But the Djinn did not seem to think so. They were waking now in their hundreds, dividing his attention, their vapid thoughts inserting themselves in place of his own. Why, he had not even recognized that his companions were staring.

"Solomon-san?" Asuna looked at him, worried and face filled with incomprehension.

"Ah, Dear Asuna . . . pay this . . ." He groped for the correct word " . . . incontinence . . . no mind, it is merely a . . . How should I say . . ."

"Don't lie to them!" Oct . . . Oct . . . _Tavi-_chan demanded silence and everyone's attention. The small life propped herself up on her fins. "Not in the state you're in." Asuna's eyes fell on Octavia to continue. "Can't you tell? Hmph. Fine then. Solomon-dono's only exists because of his Royal Treasure, the same as my Crown, but the Ring of Solomon is dormant now."

"Dormant?" Asuna's eyes widened. "Then you mean . . ."

Solomon heaved a great sigh, feeling as his whole frame shuddered and shed Djinn. "I am . . . afraid so." He rubbed at his temple, the release of Djinn had taxed his waning attention, restored some of the clarity to his mind even as his consciousness shrank away. "Without the Ring's influence this Solomon is beginning to dissolve."

"Why didn't you tell us before?!" The Maeve Queen asked. Her eyes were full of sympathy.

"I didn't _mean_ to mislead you . . ." Solomon bowed his head in shame. "Afraid! I was afraid . . . It would ruin a . . . really really good . . . chance . . . to . . . to . . . " He gestured vaguely and rung his great hands as they too began to free Djinn who went to work nibbling at fingers and whittling away bones. All across his chest, Djinn pulled themselves free, crawling across his back and shoulders before diving away or flitting off through the air with their happy squeaks.

"I understand, Solomon-san" Asuna took a few steps forward as Solomon kneeled for the last time. "You're not in any pain, are you?"

"Not . . . Asuna . . . We . . . I . . . Do not . . . uncomfortable. Just sleepy." Yes . . . Sleep, sleepy sleep, getting so sleepy. Wanted go back to . . . to . .

"This is the reason you evaded my questions before . . ." Prince Wales sighed. "It was because you knew this would happen."

"I try convince Djinn."

The Prince nodded as he reflected on his own inner thoughts. Solomon closed his eyes, not sure if he would open them again. The silence was broken only be the squeak and farewells of hundreds of Djinn. "Make . . . I Make no promises . . . Prince . . . But for Asuna . . . Will Try . . . I will try . . . If Asuna . . . Helps!"

"Solomon-san?"

"It's nothing!" Solomon sighed as his shoulders began to slope and his head began to sink downward upon his straining neck, his broad powerful back began to shrink, skin pinched and weathered. Solomon's muscular physique had begun to wane as if aging centuries, slowly shrinking down and wasting away with each Djinn lost. "Djinn . . . The Djinn will still . . . help!" Help? Help! Asuna!

"Then you will aid us in the war?" Wales frowned.

"No." Solomon's voice cracked completely, becoming a high pitched Djinn-like squeak as his body continued to recede and change. Shoulders sunk and head collapsed into chest as arms and legs shrank inwards and stomach distended into a great belly. Black Eyes now looked up rather than down at Asuna. "But will still protect . . . Protect the desert. And protect Gaddan. From . . . From bad people. If Asuna asks. Make promise. Asuna! Asuna?" Asuna reached down, placing a hand atop its sloped brow. The Large Djinn shook in anticipation as lesser Djinn swam from its body. "Make promise Asuna?"

"Un. Solomon-san. If the bad people attack here, can you and the Djinn promise me that you will help Gaddan?"

The Djinn that had been Solomon, but which now thought of itself only as Djinn, tilted its head from side to side as it weighed the question. Help? Help. Asuna. Help Asuna. Protect. Protect Gaddan. Lots of People. Lots of Happy People. Play? Play. Good. Carefully composing itself, the Djinn replied. "Okay!"

And then Djinn receded still further, shrinking, shrinking down and splitting apart, each piece running off, getting smaller and simpler until another Djinn who also thought of itself as Djinn uncurled itself from a ball and looked up at all the surrounding faces and then finally found the face of a little girl looking down at him with bright green eyes. A little girl. Girl. Little. Sad. Who? Remember!

"Ban? Ban-chan?!"

* * *

"Ban? Ban-chan?!"

Kazuna still hadn't gotten over the surprise of hearing her name when Yui-chan's started to speak. "Solomon really came through and fixed him."

"Actually Papa, I think this is a another Djinn Solomon-san gave Djinn-kun's memories to." Yui said.

Kazu felt her sorrow return. Why did it make her so unhappy? "So this isn't Djinn-kun?"

The Djinn tilted its head, and squeaked her name again. It wasn't like she liked him, Djinn-kun, the real Djinn-kun that was. He was really stupid, and even weirder than that. But, Djinn-kun hadn't deserved to die because of her.

Which was why it was surprising to hear Yui answer with a negative.

"They're the same." Yui declared. "Since this Djinn-kun has all of Djinn-kun's memories, as far as this Djinn is concerned, he's always been Djinn-kun. I think that's why he calls you Ban-chan already."

"Ban-chan! Hnng!" The Djinn began to squirm and kick its little legs, it wanted down.

Kazu squinted as she thought hard. "So . . . You're Djinn-kun . . . but you're also not Djinn-kun." It was weird, really weird. But . . . She played with the stem of her little glass rose before coming to a decision.

"Well . . . either way . . . you were very brave tonight Djinn-kun." She said as she closed her eyes and carefully planted a peck on the Djinn's rough, scaly brow.

Instantly, 'Djinn-kun' froze stiff, and then just as instantly a noise like purring came from the little Elemental as its inner light warmed to a rich firewood red and melted snugly into Kazu's hand as if completely and blissfully content.

Kazuna watched for a moment in disbelief, then she felt a tightness in her throat. She was sure she was going to cry until the noise cracked its way out, high pitched and sweet. A giggle. Because . . . Because it was funny. Really weird but really funny too.

"Yui-chan?" Kazu turned to her friend and then stopped as she saw that Yui had frozen up and started one of her blinking fits. It stopped suddenly and Yui nodded very seriously.

Before anyone could react, least of all her brother, Yui turned to Ueda and stood up on her tiptoes to peck him lightly on his cheek. Kazuna had never seen her brother turn so red as he slapped a hand to his face. "What?!"

Yui closed her eyes and smiled. "You were brave tonight too, Bardiche-kun." Then, before anyone could say anything else, Yui turned to her mother and father. "Papa, since Mama saved you, you need to kiss her on the cheek now too."

Yui's beautiful mother laughed gently. "Just on the cheek, Yui-chan?"

"Well, you didn't have to try too hard to save him." Yui decided.

Kazuna looked over to her brother, frozen and red faced. Suddenly, Ueda shook his head like a dog shaking off water. "This is all too weird! I'm going back to bed!"


End file.
